#Most of us r all a lil mixed but it’s not as simple as everyone else makes it out to be

[ciderjacks]

wish there were more ndn creole blogs on here, it’s all recipes and history pages, like we’re still around and being a creole ndn is way different to a non creole ndn experience, I know we’re around cause I met one a few weeks ago irl just by chance, but everyone acts like we’re either only in Louisiana and not worth acknowledging or just gone altogether.

[yanderecandystore]

Can we get some content for how the Android darling and Ms. Bright would meet?

In this [🍰🍑🤖] we get a glimpse of what their relationship is like and a lil mention of how things have worked out- But let's see how it played out from the a.is perspective.

Hi boo, I hope you're doing great, I'm very sorry for the long ass waiting- Sadly I may warn y'all that I have gone through many stages while writing this: h 0 r ny, corny, and angsty. This is actually pretty heavy, as I tried pulling some of the loose threads that I left all over Ingrid's posts (I still need to give her an bio ;-; I'm sorry y'all-)

So this is all over the place, since this is a fic I've been writing for a long time.

Also I know jackshit about robotics, and I think this fic shows how much I don't know anything XD

TW: Family issues related to: LGBTQ identity // very angsty // Ingrid is very rude, but she also struggles a lot during this- // socially distant // socially awkward // being misinterpreted/having a hard time socializing //

Tags: angy sad lady // ownership dynamic // this is basically the reader reminiscing about the past (continuing it from where Happy Lies left off) // the reader is low-key a simp at times- // master x servant dynamic, possessive behavior and a lot of yelling // just angsty really, I'm so sorry //

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

Happy birthday, mistress [Yandere!CEO OC x A.I!Reader - Short Fanfiction]

3,763 words

Whenever you remember your first day of activation, or more accurately your first day of actually being able to be activated for more than five seconds (you can't remember it fully, but you're aware that because of your complex design, you had passed through a lot of prototype phases before you could properly function-), you almost feel an odd sense of nostalgia, maybe due to the fact it was indeed the most important day of your existence as an android.

It was Ms.Bright's nineteenth birthday, when she would be handed the corporation that has been passed down by generations. And not only would she inherit the company, but also a beautifully designed a.i assistant made to help Ms.Bright's every need. You were made to be an easy communication center from Ms.Bright to the employees, as Ms.Bright's had a hard time communicating with people and expressing herself.

At first, she didn't seem to enjoy the idea very much- It was clear that she considered you to be quite annoying and useless. And- Well- It did hurt at first, after all, you were built to help her and be her friend no matter what.

So hearing her be mean towards you was… Very tough at first. Your first day as her assistant wasn't easy, you ended up getting in her way most of the time- And since she also didn't know exactly what she was doing, she got overwhelmed by so many things going down in one single day.

Ingrid has always dreamed of being in power of the company- Actually, now that you know her a little more- You can positively say she was probably just stressed at having to deal with so many responsibilities so suddenly, even if it has been her lifelong wish to inherit the company.

And even if it seems impossible at times, she would still come back strong and find a way to deal with it. That's something you really admire about her.

Your first week on the job was basically just trying to get accustomed and trying to learn everything you needed to do- While also trying to understand Ms.Bright as best as you could. Now… You weren't built to say this- And- And of course you don't think like this anymore, but…. You used to think she was really mean.

Frightening, even.

Now that you're all alone waiting for her to get back from work, you can't help but feel like replaying those moments inside your head.

"{... Replaying recorded conversation n°000050: "My second day at work"...}"

" Oh, what are you doing here?"

" Morning Ms.Bright! I-I was rechecking the files from yesterday and I was trying my best to reorganize them, a-after the incident-"

" The "incident" that you caused yesterday?"

" Well, yes, of course! I wanted to fix things up before you came back, I'm really sorry for being so reckless, I promise I won't do it again, I was just-"

"It 's fine. You don't need to worry about it."

" But… But I thought-"

" The files you had messed with weren't really all that important, and besides I'm sure there are copies all around the place. Sigh, who am I kidding- In reality, I should be the one apologizing for my behavior yesterday."

"...."

" I recognize that I shouldn't have treated you the way that I did, in a sense it's my fault you lost those files in the first place."

" … Well, it's nothing really mistress, I'm the one who should-"

" No, don't even finish it. You shouldn't have to apologize and shouldn't have spent the night wasting your battery on this-"

"...."

".... You know what, do whatever- I sometimes forget that you are… Nevermind, come back to my office as soon as you can."

"{... End of recorded conversation n°000.000.050… }"

You never knew what she was going to say, but you remember not being able to ask her that- As you were afraid of her potentially getting mad at you for asking too many questions. She always seemed so ruthless at times.

You remember the time you went to a family event with her, a family party, where an incident happened and she was absolutely livid. Your relationship with her wasn't so pretty at the time, you don't know why but- Your mistress didn't seem to trust you as much as you wish she did at the time.

"{... Replaying recorded conversation n°000.001.588: "First party ever- And it was very unpleasant" ...}"

" What's the matter with you?! Why can't you follow simple instructions- I told you to stay here and not mess around."

" I'm. So. Sorry. Mistress-"

" Even your vocal module is broken- Who told you to enter that pool in the first place?? You can't tell me you did something so stupid all on your own."

" I. Slipped.-"

" Am I a joke to you? I've said tell me who gave you the order to jump in the goddamn pool while everyone else was inside- Don't you dare start lying to me."

" … One of the. Party guests. Lost something. Inside the water. I tried helping them. But I started to. Malfunction."

" … Sigh, okay. Continue."

" It wasn't. Their fault. I did it. On my own. I was just- Trying. To help."

" By throwing yourself inside a pool when you're well aware of the damage the water can cause to your inner systems?!"

" I'm sorry!"

" You could have- No, you SHOULD have called someone else to help you, I can't believe it- You could have drowned in there and I wouldn't even be aware of that since I was inside the house, [Y/n]!"

" …. But Ms.Bright. I can't drown-"

" Yeah, yeah- I know you-... I know you can't drown."

" … Listen, you could have still gotten yourself hurt okay? You could have permanently damaged your systems, and if I wasn't made aware of what happened, I wouldn't have been able to take you out of the water in time, okay?"

"... Sigh, I just realized how much I have been yelling, everyone is probably scared now that I've made such a scandal. This… Isn't really a new thing to me, I'm accustomed to ruining parties like this. I'll have to apologise later to everyone. [Y/n], please just- When I ask you to stay still, please listen to me. I was worried about you."

"...."

"{... End of recorded conversation n°000.001.588 ...}"

You can't deny it- Whenever she was truly irritated she could make any person next to her feel threatened, though the more you look at your recordings, you feel like she doesn't really want to be feared like this. Respected? Absolutely. Feared? Not ideal, but she takes it anyway.

You have a couple of different recordings here and there, your memories are separated into sections. You have recordings of events in several formats: pictures, videos, texts and audio recordings. Though the one you use the most is audio recordings, since videos take a very big space inside your mind, and pictures need context, otherwise they wouldn't be considered memories, right?

You can't have many memories at a time because most of your mind is supposed to be used to store the company's files, so you do have a couple of memories that you have deleted to make space for the Bright Vision's more secret/personal documents. Since Ingrid took you home yesterday, and said you won't be going to work for the company anymore, then maybe you can find somewhere else to store those files so you can make space for new memories with Ms.Bright.

First, you'll need to recheck some of your own memories to see if they're worth holding onto. There is probably a lot of junk in there that you won't be needing anymore, which can be a bit tedious and take some time, but you clearly have enough time on your hands to do so, considering how she is not home and- Well, you're pretty bored, you already done everything that she asked you to do.

Honestly, she gave such small tasks today, she probably didn't plan to change your work environment so suddenly.

After about an hour of research through your data you have realized that even if you have way too many files, it's kinda hard to delete them. At first you didn't mind the idea of deleting certain stuff, but now it feels a bit sad to erase parts of your memory, you just had so many good times and- And even the bad times are worth remembering, right?

It has been an hour of you just standing there, trying your best to not delete anything important while also revising each recording you have. Most files are a bit out of order, numerically speaking, but you don't mind that too much cause- Well, you can always reorganize them later.

… You never actually do that, but you like to think that one day you will, though.

After so many recordings of conversations, you found one who didn't seem to really belong in your head. You see, you always title every single thing inside your personal archives so that it doesn't get mixed with other files- All of your memories have a specific title so that you can have an idea of which is which.

The thing is- You don't remember this file, the title seems off, and it seems like it's incomplete. Oddly broken. Still, you decided to take a listen and try to remember what happened in this event.

"{... Replaying recorded conversation n°000.068.xxx: "I yell too much" ...}"

"...."

"...."

"...."

This is a very silent audio, there seems to be some background noise happening, but you can't make out what's happening. This audio sounds distorted, edited maybe. Someone tried messing with your memories but they weren't able to completely erase this file.

Maybe they were inexperienced at the time.

"...."

"...."

"...."

You think you heard something, it sounded closer to you- It sounded like someone possibly sitting down next to you. You don't know who it is, or what it is

"...."

".... I'm such a mess. Why am I doing this? Why does this feels so-"

"...."

It seems like someone is speaking, but you're not speaking back. Even in this heavily edited audio, you can still make out what sounds to be a feminine voice.

".... I'm sorry for, well, using you this way. It feels- So, so weird."

"...."

".... I just want… No, I need to vent to you for a while, even if you won't remember what I'm going to say."

This audio gives you an odd sensation. You think you're starting to recognize who this is- But then again, who else could it be, if not Ms.Bright herself?

" I never did this before, with something so- Human like- With something so human looking. I used to record my thoughts on my phone but I thought I would never need to vent with an object before- But here I am! Making a fool of myself…"

"...."

The speaker, who you assume to be Ingrid, seems to be having a lot of trouble speaking, her voice is cracking and her breathing seems uneven. She sounds out of breath, and she takes a lot of pauses to be able to speak her mind.

"...."

".... I have…. Thought about opening myself in this way because- Because I have no one else to listen to it, and I guess I can only blame myself for it. I know I'm difficult, I know I'm rude and I know I come across as a tyrant to everyone else- I- I really don't know what 's wrong with me, okay?!"

" Years, and years, and years of training, of studying, of planning to become the very next owner of this corporation as it's already not only a job but also a very painful family tradition that I felt proud of! That I gave everything that I could to be part of! I remember wanting this so bad, I remember how I used to daydream about this stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid tradition when I was a little kid who just wanted to do more, to be more!"

".… I almost lost all of this. 19 years of my life that were threatened to be thrown in the trash just because I- Because I'm not his son??! Because I- I'm not his only "son" anymore??.... Who said I ever was- Who said I ever was his son…?"

".... I- I know all about the stupid, awful and extremely unnecessary tradition of passing the leadership from father to son, and to this very day- inside the same office all of my predecessors had went through- I still think that tradition is garbage. I always thought I wouldn't make it here, I always thought something would stop me from being the next face of Bright Vision."

".... I can't tell- If I always knew about this- I can't even imagine how I knew this considering the dumb kid that I was, but…"

".... I'm his daughter. I'm Mr.Bright's only daughter, and the only possible heir to this twisted company."

" The people outside think our only focus it's on robotics and technology of all kinds. I wish I could go back to thinking that too, it would have been so much simpler that way."

" After a very long fight about my rights as the heir to this- Company. My father thought it would be wise to move to the countryside. Far away from all of this. And to be fair, I was- So, so mad at him that I thought that him moving away from here and letting me be would be better, but every now and then I- I miss him. I miss him so much…."

"He sent me a birthday present today. After three years of absolute silence he sends me flowers and- And a gift card containing his number… And I- Called him despite everything, and even so to this day he can't even say my name- IT'S BEEN THREE YEARS AFTER HE LEFT ME ALL ALONE WITH THIS CURSED BUSINESS AND HE STILL CAN'T FUCKING. SAY. MY. NAME."

You felt scared at the sudden yelling, even if her voice was progressively getting more aggressive and louder, you still got caught up by the sudden yelling.

".... I'm- A mess- I know that now."

You can't understand what's going on, but it sounds like she started laughing… Or maybe crying? Probably both.

".... I'm just terrible at this. I always was, weren't I? I'm just terrible at these types of interactions- Maybe all of them! I just don't understand how to- How to do it?? I don't know anymore…."

".... That's why I have you, in the first place, isn't it?"

" I had such an awful time expressing myself that they gave me an overpriced doll to do it for me. When I first heard about this three years ago, I- I've felt so fucking pitiful."

" Can you imagine it? The CEO of such a big corporation is so difficult to deal with that she needs an overly glorified doll that can translate her words to the other employees! An a.i created just to help me, an absolute idiot!"

".... I've felt so angry at them- I felt so angry at him for having to build a robot just to be a comfort pet to the stressful work that I would have to do for the rest of my position as owner of Bright Vision Corp, and I was mad at you! You pissed me off to no end, and I- I just couldn't help but be frustrated at you, not for being in my way, but for being an reminder that I'm awful at this-"

"...."

Her sobs stopped her from continuing that sentence.

".... I've treated you so unfairly because of this. I- I made sure that whenever you looked at me you would feel terrified of me because that's the only way I thought I could be respected, that's the only way I thought you would listen to me, and yet you never did…. You weren't built to follow my every order perfectly, you were made to be literally my only friend, after 22 years, here you are- The only person that can get me isn't even an actual person-"

"..... And I forget this…! I forget this every time I look at your eyes, I forget how robotic you are whenever I see you helping others not because you were told to, but just because you thought you could."

"...."

".... I always forget that you're supposed to be just another robot… He really did think about everything when designing you."

".... I always catch myself being awful towards you, being- Being excessively rude, not because of my way of talking but because of my own petty feelings towards you as my assistant… As my friend, as my android, as my-"

"...."

"..... I'm so sorry for being like this, you don't deserve to have someone who is constantly being mean towards you be considered your boss- Your boss, your friend- ...Sigh, even your owner…"

" I'm sorry [Y/n], I'm really, really sorry- But it doesn't matter how many times I say that- I don't know if I can ever make it up to you. Words won't heal any wounds, they never did."

"...."

".... But maybe actions will."

"...."

" I'll stop being so harsh on you, you really don't deserve this- I was feeling weird about using your recording system to vent like this, but now that I think about it I have been using you as a venting mechanism since the day we met……. I'm- I'm so goddamn awful."

"...."

"...."

" "How can someone so in love be so cruel?".... Would you be able to answer me if you were conscious?.... I don't think you would, no one has been able to tell me the right answer yet."

".... I hope I can be better- I will be better."

"...."

" I just need to remember how to delete this file before you wake up- I hope I can do that. End recording."

"{... End of recorded conversation n°000.068.xxx …}

………….

It took you about an hour or so to be able to process what you have just listened to. And even then, you weren't able to fully comprehend what happened.

Ms.Bright- No, Ingrid- Ingrid has used your recording system while you were out, she probably tried deleting the file but because she was inexperienced with your kind of technology, she decided to just edit it and try to make it unlistenable.

It was- Barely audible but you still got to understand some of it.

Did she- Did she forget to completely erase it? Did she forget entirely??? You're not sure.

You don't know why but a sudden wave of- Something- Something feels so odd about this-

You don't know how to respond really. You don't feel mad about her ranting to you, you don't even feel bad about her ranting to you while you weren't aware- You feel bad, but not because of her but because of the emotional turmoil she has been hiding from you.

Should you do something? Should you say something?? How do you even- You don't know how respond to this-

You're programmed to comfort her, yet- This file is already old, and she didn't want you to remember this so maybe it won't be the best idea to bring it up, but what can you do??!

Maybe you just need to rethink this through, maybe you should listen to audio again, and try to figure out what's the best way to help her out when she comes back.

You're honestly baffled at the idea that someone like her had so much to confess to- You probably shouldn't have seen her as an unstoppable goddess in the first place, but then again- Even after hearing her open herself, even after listening to her insecurities- Your opinion of her hasn't changed.

She was holding this for so long, no wonder she always seems on edge.

She 's only human. Yet you never really saw her as just that.

She was always so much larger than you, so much stronger than what your fabricated body was, and she always sounded so much smarter and- And she was just always so… Terrifyingly beautiful to you.

Ingrid Bright was always considered a very good looking individual, but no one ever considered her to be much else because of her way of speaking to others (which may sound rude and occasionally condescending, causing others to avoid her as much as they could), but you always thought she was so much more than that-

It's hard to even explain it really, ever since you met you have started to understand the concept of how beauty and fear can mix together, you find her to be so beautiful, yet her demeanor and stature makes you feel afraid of her for some reason- And even worse than that, the fear she may unconsciously bring you makes her seem more beautiful in your eyes.

You shouldn't think of her as scary or frightening, she is your boss, your master and your owner, there is no reason for why you should feel this way towards her- But then again, there is no reason for you to even feel in the first place, you were just built to do so.

You don't think she means harm to anyone, after getting to know her you realize why her behavior can be misinterpreted as mean and scary- Ms.Bright always had a hard time socializing with others, even her family had a hard time understanding her, so maybe that's why she grew to have such a tough exterior.

As someone that was built to make the communication between CEO and employees easier, you've had to learn to understand her to be able to help others understand her as well, and vice versa. It wasn't easy, and you wouldn't say that you know her completely well- But you feel proud of the work you have done so far, you're her loyal companion but more importantly a friend.

Funny how much you learned not only about her, the employees, or even the business of the company- But also about humans in general in these five years of working for her, it makes you feel more whole when you remember how much you have achieved.

You hope you can somehow help her right now, and to help her from here on out. You decide to wait for her and possibly talk about how she feels and how she deals with said feelings. Hopefully all ends well.

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

Sorry for the loose ending! I was feeling very tired ;-; but if anyone wants it I could totally make a second chapter with a better ending.

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

[fanfictiondreamscape]

To Grab the Gold

Request: Could you maybe do a yurio x reader where the reader is a skater in the girls league at the same level as him. And though she almost always wins gold like her brother victor she’s always hard on herself saying she could do better. Either headcanons of how he would handle it or a Scenario please and thank you!!!!! Love work by the way!!!!!!!

Title: To Grab the Gold 

Genre: fluffy, strays a lil into angst-y territory (but it should be fairly short)

Pairing: Yuri Plisetsky x Fem!reader

Notes: Okay, so thank you for this request! I’ve always wanted to write something about the reader being a sibling of Victor or someone, so this gave me the prime idea! 

Otherwise, I feel as if I can relate to this idea in itself - being hard on yourself. It can literally be seen on this blog. It’s so nice and it makes me so happy to see that people enjoy the work I put out. So, I will thank you for that. 

That said, I went with headcanons. Small warning, though: 

These ideas will stray into territory that can be triggering. I would give it a specific label, but it is simply amplified insecurities, so if you deal with that - please proceed with caution. 

KEY: (Yuri = Plisetsky, Yuuri = Katsuki)

Below the cut! 

we have to cover this before anything else is said:

the figure skating world is brutal.

with that in mind, seeing as you had managed to jump the ranks as quickly as you did, people knew you as a formidable competitor. 

yuri in particular knew how fierce of a competitor you were, seeing as he had trained with you and your brother victor under yakov for as long as he remembers.

so yes, while you two did grow up beside each other, you never really talked to anyone besides yakov, victor, and mila (from time to time) 

in short, you two barely knew each other despite growing beside each other. 

funny occurrence when you consider that he was of the few that knew of your habits when skating.

in similar fashion to your brother, you were almost a natural on the ice, and the way that you moved even off the ice was graceful yet intimidating. 

it frankly shocked the other people competing against you in the senior division in which you debuted.

yuri was beside you the whole way.

literally.

when victor had made the claim that he was going to coach yuuri katsuki, he had suggested that you join him and train under him for the year. 

you reluctantly agreed, though you also avoided saying anything to yakov as you weren’t as straightforward and recklessly fearless as victor is. 

that said, yuri was a little disappointed and jealous.

he knew it was baseless, you were victor’s younger sibling, after all

what right did he have to keep you here?

what really bothered yuri was the fact that victor had made him a promise. 

and he intended to make sure he kept it. 

so when he showed up at the local ice rink out of the blue, you were left jaw-on-the-floor. 

were you really surrounded by people that were purely impulse and nothing else? 

you didn’t let the event prevent you from working on your senior debut pieces, though.

while yuri and yuuri were being coached by victor, it was only when they were done for the day that victor stood by and helped you with your senior debut. 

you already had high expectations, after all - if you couldn’t hold up, what would happen? 

you and yuri are the best new entries, so if either of you couldn’t hold up, what would go down if victor decided to quit coaching for competing in the next season and you had to go back to yakov?

what about if you had failed to grab even silver in your debut?

you knew you could do it, and you wanted the satisfaction that came with the draping of the medal around your neck, standing on the highest pedastal on the winner’s platform.

at least, that’s what you were trying to convince yourself to do. 

you had been trying and failing to do an even more advanced jump than what you usually did.

and you wanted to use it in one of your routines

but the best you could do was the mount. 

your landing was flawed at best, and a wipeout at worst. 

it was starting to get to you.

many things swung around in your head.

‘is it my weight? is it being distributed incorrectly or did you just gain some?’

‘maybe it could be the routine itself. is it good enough to shock a crowd and win the gold?’

‘or, maybe, it’s just the fact that victor wasn’t able to focus and help you when you needed it most?’

the ideals that had been drilled into your head differed greatly from victor’s 

and the fact that you had the expectation to live up to his abilities was starting to get to you for once.

normally, you’d just brush it off, but your competitive nature kicked into full gear and you felt the overwhelming need to avoid disappointing and losing.

you loved the feeling it brought to you. what else was there to say? 

that, and you knew how victor could get when he had expectations. 

just because you’re his family, doesn’t mean that you are exempt from his expectations of nikiforov gold. 

which is why you worked your ass off. 

you lost weight in favor of toning, you made sure to reach the rink before and after the three males entered and left.

more often than not, you would be eating a meal in your designated room in at the hot springs later at night, after your daily workout. 

the new jump that you had been trying to accomplish was barely coming along

your routines were starting to slack.

you didn’t know what was going on, as things like this were normal, but they never reached this extent.

either way, you worked and worked and worked.

eventually, you had begun to skip dinner

you had begun to lose sleep 

you had started to pass out at random times.

despite how much you tried to hide it and play it off as if everything was normal, everyone that saw you could tell that wasn’t the case by any means. 

yuuri was trying to get you to stop and relax, but in your work-induced mindset led to you lashing out at him. no matter what he did, nothing worked. 

yuri and victor had been aiming to get you to relax and stop working as well, but even they knew that you wouldn’t do that unless some more powerful entity forced you to.

that, and the sheer amount of disappointment that had started to rain over your being was starting to transform into anger. 

you were beginning to have outbursts, your were beginning to perform as if you were a simple novice.

you were beginning to look as if you were going to fall apart after a single breath. 

you failed to realize and care about your wellbeing until you wiped out on the ice and couldn’t get back up. 

you were lucky that yuri had stayed back to get something he forgot, otherwise you might’ve been stuck there all night. 

which is why you had to face the music and realize that this wasn’t the way to go about it. 

he had made quick succession in making sure that you were okay as soon as he was exiting the rink and saw you passed out on the ice. 

he panicked, frankly, but he made sure to get you off the ice and on a bench before calling yuuko over to tell her to call victor.

everything was moving fast, and he swore he could feel his heart racing in his ears as he saw you still on surface.

you looked pale, a weird mix of purple-blue and green, and the image left him speechless.

victor and yuuri rushed over to the rink as soon as they could, and when yuuri saw you his jaw fell to the floor

victor, on the other hand, ran to your side and picked you up.

he was able to notice the way you fell limp.

long story short, you looked dead.

it scared him senseless, and yuri could understand the sentiment. 

over the time that he had spent in Japan, he had grown to appreciate the amount of work that you had put forth to succeed.

sadly, even he didn’t know that you would push yourself to this extent.

and he now knew why he became even more drawn to you.

you took pride in your abilities, but he never knew that you pushed yourself this far to achieve whatever goal you had set for yourself.

this event was what forced him to become aware of his feelings for you. 

he could now realize why he always watched you, mesmerized at the way you carried yourself.

and he now understood why he wanted to make you feel safe.

after you were taken to the hot springs and taken care of, victor and yuri stayed by your side as you were still unconscious.

a warm towel was resting on your forehead and you were covered with a blanket. 

for extra measures, they had even kept a small heater beside you to make sure that you didn’t freeze while resting. 

“yuri, can i ask you something?”

“ah- what is it. victor?”

“if she decides to go back to yakov, watch over her for me.”

“...”

“i can tell. she has taken a liking to you, and i know you have taken one to her.”

“...”

“she trusts you, yuri. and after this, i fear that this could happen again, so please. make sure she takes a break.”

“...i promise, victor.”

“...thank you, yuri.”

victor left after that, patting yuri on the back 

(he wondered what he failed to notice, despite his overprotective nature when it came to you.)

yuri sat there, overnight and into the next morning.

yuuri and victor came in to check on you, brought him breakfast, but everything the next day seemed to slow down.

eventually, you woke up, but you were lost. you were even more disappointed than you were before. 

if you needed the cloth on your head changed out, yuri did it.

if you needed the heater turned on, he did it.

if you needed literally anything, he did it or got it for you. 

otherwise, he’d just be silent and act as a safespace for you if you ever needed it.

similarly to how he might handle insecurities that you may have, he would be very careful with the subject.

he’d be a little awkward, though he’d power through for your sake. 

after a few days of just relaxing and stretching, doing some light exercises (and i mean E X T R E M E L Y light exercises), he’d do some slight skating with you to calm you down.

if you wanted to see something from him on the ice, he’d do it for you.

hell, he even did his developing competition piece for you so you could have entertainment in analyzing his technique and ability.

he loved seeing the way your face would light up when you would watch him perform.

eventually, the time passed by.

you came to realize yuri plisetsky as himself completely, aside from just facing the persona that he projected to the media, people he worked aside, and to his fans. 

it made you realize what you had been feeling the whole time. 

you had been put on light work by victor, as he didn’t want to see this happen to you again, so weeks had passed before you went through your intense debut routines. 

it was only on the night that the competition for who victor would coach came up that you were able to go through even a snippet of it. 

yuri, following his loss, was distraught.

he still powered through the night, though. 

when you saw him after the event, you asked him to join you on the ice.

you had a speaker set up on the edge of the rink, playing some lofi music to make sure the mood had stayed calm.

you two just skated around, no real reason as to why except to settle from the day.

“hey, yuri.”

“hmm?”

“you were amazing. as usual, but...”

“...but?”

“...i wanted to thank you.”

he stayed silent to let you continue, but you knew that he was listening. his skating had ceased just the slightest as he had been slightly ahead of you in the rink.

“i...i made a stupid mistake by failing to pay attention to my health, and i wanted to thank you for helping me.”

the silence that followed was comfortable, and as the both of you were very hesitant to say what loomed over your hearts, you were both already aware of what the both of you did meant.

‘i love you.’

the rest of the time in the rink was passed by you and him holding hands and making rounds around the rink 

he even slipped some fancy ballroom moves in, making you flush and laugh. he did the same alongside you.

the next day, there was something melancholy in the air.

and even though you had told him that you wouldn’t be returning to yakov for the season, you did emphasize that you wanted to continue talking to him. 

“hey, yurio!”

“how many times do i- don’t call me yurio!”

“not gonna happen. either way, before you leave, promise me something?”

“what is it?” (it was gentle, and the scene made victor, yuuri, and yuuko gush)

“i better see you on that pedastal kissing that gold medal, plitsetsky.”

“only if i see you up there as well. though you better be careful, or i am going to ignore it.”

“got it, got it. now...promise me?”

“i promise.”

[shoshie]

hi poosie 💞🌺💘 im going w 3 nights by dominic fike; emotional by okaywil; honest by the neighborhood; devil i know by allie x; sweet disposition by the temper trap; very nice by seventeen; moonlight by dhruv; rain by ben platt; home by phillip phillips; just friends by jordy; timebomb by walk the moon; cross my heart by marianas trench; shatter me by lindsey striling; paris is burning by st vincent; arrival of the birds by the cinematic orchestra; nyc girl by the orion experience; relay by fiona apple; dnd by glaive; sympathy by vampire weekend; december 1963 by frankie valli & the four seasons; and step with me by mika.

if ur thinking ‘h what the fuck’ you & i would b thinking the same thing. i kept adding songs bc im like ‘ah shit what if they hate the one i suggested?’ so i added 2 more. and then yk . i kept adding until my spotify app weirdly refreshed and i took it as a sign from god to stfu and finish the list so !!! that’s what i have !!! i hope ur having a lovely lovely day & that u like at Least one on this list 💓❣️💘🌺💞‼️

i’m gonna tell u what i think of each song BUT i’m putting it under a read more lkdhfbf

1. 3 nights: i realized i’ve actually heard this one BUT not the whole song so it’s ok! i like it it’s v chill v vibey it sounds like streetlights reflecting off a wet road <3 (i am incapable of describing songs with adjectives)

2. emotional: the instrument in the background of this is rly cool idk it’s like. it kinda sounds like hitting spoons on a glass but more musical & almost piano like? i rly like it tho, this song sounds like bright colors & peaches :D

3. honest: this one kinda sounds like one of those ones that makes ur brain go brrrr ‼️ its like. laced w something kfjbjsbfksnv musically it’s not rly my thing but i can appreciate it as a song <3

4. devil i know: i only know one allie x song (can’t stop now) so i wasn’t sure what this would sound like but it’s kinda insane??? the background vocals r so cool i love the humming :0 v sexie nd her voice is so beautiful omg

5. sweet disposition: this feels oddly familiar. i don’t think i’ve heard it tho. it kinda reminds me of say geronimo if u know that one? it sounds like adventure kind of, like it could be used in a travel vlog (complimentary)

6. very nice: aju NICE babababdadadabbabda!!!! i’ve heard this one but i don’t mind listening to it again <3 bop banger etc. good vocals amazing horns in the chorus also if u haven’t seen the choreo i would definitely recommend it it’s so fun

7. moonlight: this is so pretty omg 🥺 i got a mental image of like. sitting on top of a car w someone u love & watching a meteor shower on a clear night. very chill his voice is so lovely

8. rain: ben platt’s voice is gorgeous. this is not the type of music i would have expected from him though??? idk he doesn’t seem like the pop music type of person. i think i prefer some of his other music (cough grow as we go cough) but this is a solid song

9.. home: ive heard this but not since i was like 10 so the nostalgia i got from it,,,, :’) home also sounds like a travel vlog song a bit! i think its the oooohhhhhohohohs in the post chorus (?). this song just reminds me of my childhood i used to hear it all the time on the radio sitting in the backseat <3

10. just friends: I HAVE ALSO HEARD THIS BUT IDK WHERE the beginning played nd i was like wait a minute. OH!! its so nice i love how simple the instrumentals are & jordy has a rly pretty voice as well!! the melody is so addictive as well

halfway done! this is fun<3

11. timebomb: bop?? this could be used in the soundtrack to a romcom tv show directed at teenagers (once again. what are adjectives) it reminds me of when shut up and dance came out nd everyone was obsessed with it.. that was a better time i think

12. cross my heart: headbanging songs > the lyrics to this one r a little basic but thats ok not every song has to have deep profound lyrics that make u feel existential. this is certainly a banger yessir. the ending is cool too i love harmonies

13. shatter me: scawy... the imagery in this is insane "i pirouette in the dark" UM?? this sounds like a movie hello. imagine WAI HISNFVNKDNV THE DROP???? THE VIOLIN?????? i litrally just had to interrupt myself that was not an exaggerated reaction. ANYWAYS i was going to say: the movie scene im imagining is like. it keeps cutting between a girl doing ballet in dark, foggy lighting & a fight scene

14. paris is burning: dark alleyways & vintage movies!!! i enjoyed this more than i expected to? im picturing a girlboss character, maybe a spy? in all black & carrying a purse walking down the street. but she has to be wearing one of those black hats w a veil in the front & a flower on the brim, an ankle-length velvety black coat, & heels that go plonk on the cobblestone

15. arrival of the birds: THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL!!!! OMG! blue skies & green grass at a state park!!! i love it so much actually this went in my healing playlist <333 the way it built up in the best way.. tears

16. nyc girl: ok the guitar in the intro??? this is fuckign music truly one of the most songs ive ever heard. the bass fucks as well i rly like this one :D its so catchy im already bopping nd ik later im gonna b going "im gonna make u ma ha hine"

17. relay: the lyrics are so good???? its not a song that id probably listen to very often just bc its musically not my type of thing BUT i respect it a lot. shes obviously a super talented artist like i looked up the lyrics nd apparently she wrote the repeated line when she was 15??? i love what the song is about!

18. dnd: the production on the vocals is a lil bit strange but i like the song itself if that makes sense. its like mitam where the songs r mixed weirdly but i enjoy the songs anyway? i did think for abt a minute that the title referred to dungeons & dragons tho,, also i just looked up the artist and he is ALSO 15 what the FUCK

19. sympathy: the GUITARRRRR omg omgogmomg!! i rly love the whole intro like the first 30 seconds r just *chefs kiss*. OOH bass solo sexyyyyy i love prominent bass :D the instrumentals r really nice too & it reminds me of like. a heist? like a found family of thieves. this song would play as they were breaking into a museum or smth

20. december 1963: GROOVY! simply a fkin tune idk dude like this IS fun nd makes me think of roadtrips during the summer & also of walking along a dock in a harbor under the moonlight. very much floaty yellow dress vibes this song is just a mood booster

21. step with me: domestic. domesticity. thats it. no but the chorus is rly nice omg i like the melody!!! its so cute too the lyrics r so wholesome.. this sounds like an old couple thats been married for 50 years dancing to the radio in their kitchen <333 life goals

[phoebehalliwell]

so apparently my brain will not let me rest until I figure out the Prue/Roger dynamic, so: Prue's right out of college when she gets hired at the museum and she gets partnered with a senior curator, Roger. Roger flatters Prue first professionally, then personally, and when Prue is hesitant because he's married, he spins some line about how his marriage is over in everything but name. Prue, young and only having one real relationship before, falls for his charm and they start sneaking around 1/?

at the office. at some point Roger does divorce his wife, he and Prue are together publicly, and then he proposes. somewhere in there, he makes a move on Phoebe, who rejects him. Phoebe immediately goes to Prue, but Roger insists that she's lying, "Prue, don't you think I love you, I left my wife for you." Prue, habituated by years of this kind of emotional manipulation, chooses Roger over Phoebe. This pretty much destroys her relationship with her sister. Prue and Roger continue plans for the wedding until Grams dies, at which point Roger calls off the wedding because he didn't sign up to be anyone else's emotional support. Prue, spends her days angry at Roger, Grams, and Phoebe for abandoning her, and spends her nights secretly wondering if there was anything she could have done to keep any of them with her.   

hmm an inch resting yarn you have spun here but i’m gonna offer you another one: pure was popular in high school she was like really fuckin cool and she could very easily have been any man of her choosing. there was no settling for her, she was prue motherfuckin halliwell. so she went for what her heart always wanted and dated her childhood sweetheart andy trudeau. and like,, they were the It Couple in their heyday and it was definitely that passion head first our love will never die dramatic but also just kinda silly love. and that sorta sets the bar. then she’s off to college presumably at this point still trying to pursue a career in photography and she’s like having fun she hangs out with the artists and free spirits and people who were misfits in high school and draws them in with her undeniable queen bee energy but like. she knows her stuff. she doesn’t get by on looks and popularity, she’s really good at what she does. so now we bring in college boyfriend no. 1 who cupid name checked as alan, and we’ll say this really is a relationship of two artists and they’re both amazed by each other’s work and the soul and heart and spirit in it and in them it’s definitely the most pretentious of prue’s relationships but it’s like the kind where they “break into” the local art gallery after hours (alan works there and has a key, so it’s not like it took a lot of masterminding) and like slide around polished hardwood floors until they fall down laughing that type of vibe. but now we’re encroaching on prue’s blue period. for starters, piper’s get ready to y’know apply for college this that and the other and like grams is all concerned about how much college costs blah blah blah with paying for both prue and piper and the same time yada yada yada and prue sorta realizes how sorta tight the money situation is what with the cost of education and the house and this that and the other and she’s starting to realize that this photography career is Not the move bc like this house needs a breadwinner if they want to keep it blah blah blah so life already blows when she has to go pick up phoebe from a party which she’s not like happy about but like you know at least phoebe isn’t drunk driving maybe this is a chance for them to bond as sisters for prue to impart some wisdom on her chaotic younger sister but no of course not of course they have to get in a huge argument and prue doesn’t hit the breaks in time and the car gets totalled and phoebe lands in the hospital and like now prue’s sorta spiralling and she like wants to quit photography and she feels horrible about everything and alan who is again i must harp on pretty pretentious is like no u can’t quit ur family doesn’t understand you it’s not about the money it’s about the art use this pain to make something amazing to which like sorry king,,, but it is about the money. the manor has been in the family for decades and prue can’t lose it. and with piper’s college, phoebe’s hospital bills, and grams’s failing health... it’s 100% about the money dude. and fuck turning your pain into art fuck glorifying suffering and fuck you. so now prue’s p cut off she’s pretty isolated she’s all down in the dumps blah blah blah she changed majors to whatever major it was she needed for like museum jobs bc at least this way she can make bank but she’ll still hold a piece of art close to her and she like drowns herself in her work like she’s not just gonna be this major (art history?) she’s gonna be the fuckin best she’s gonna be the top of her class blah blah blah yada yada yada. but y’know flash forward an amount of time and her roommate’s like hey babe. i get like life’s shit i get u got to be the very best like no one ever was but like. you have not left the apartment in four months. you haven’t smiled in probably twice as long so like. idk do something?? that makes you happy maybe???? and prue’s just like :/ bc what made her happy was like photography but now she has very mixed emotions around that and her roommate’s like what did you do for fun in high school like what did you do after school and prue’s like idk cheerleading practice and her roommate’s like word well then go to cheerleading tryouts time skip we really see prue return to all her old glory and climb up the lil cheerleading ladder blah blah blah and in this renaissance of hers she also scores a new love interest who’s basically the opposite of alan enter tom peters the star wide receiver. and i think this relationship for prue was really just like fun it was tipping her toes back into the water it was learning to smile again it was just like a good time fun simple no concerns about the future just like vibing right then and there and then that ended just sorta naturally and they both graduated and it’s time for prue to leap into the professional world and she’s never left california so when she gets a job offer in london she jumps at the chance blah blah blah she’s working she’s having fun she’s defining herself enter eric from london who i’ll say is like a Business Man he’s like a this that or the other idk maybe a museum investor like the young son who just took over his dad’s business that sorta vibe and like eyes meet breath catches there was just this click but it like took them months to get together it was just this dance this game of cat and mouse until prue finally like took the bull by the horns and just like went for it and i think that would be her like most “adult” relationship like dates were going out to fancy dinners not breaking and entering or picnics on the empty football field these were like two professional adults like dating but you know they hit a year and then some and we’ll say like prue is maybe like 24 25 and this guy’s maybe 29 or whatever and they’ve attended friend’s weddings bs they’ve hit that era where everyone’s getting married and suddenly this cloud’s hanging in the air like baby are you my forever girl like is this it fifty years from now to i still come home to you put you know what let’s push that to the back of our minds but now eric’s like 30 and his family’s like dawg,,,, r u gonna be like a spinster or something are you gonna put a ring on it or not and prue (after many many international phone calls to piper) has decided yes she’d do it she’d stay her and be with this man she loves and eric decides prue’s just not the girl for her. so uh. ouch. blah blah blah prue’s had her fun in the uk but it’s like time to return home piper’s just graduates college or whatever and found a job in the city if prue follows suit they could room together which is when she gets the job at the museum where roger works at. and blah blah blah prue’s like amazing as always and of course she catches roger’s attention bc how could she not and he’s constantly pursuing her and prue keeps turning him down at first bc she’s not really interested and then like he’s her boss and then like it becomes a sort of game but now all her friends from high school are getting married and marcia from homeroom has a baby look and the lil pumpkin on her christmas card and fuck what am i doing so you know what yes roger i’ll be your date to the new years party and here’s the thing roger knows prue is really impressive like she’s amazing at her job and she’s a total babe like he shows her off all the time and prue’s like you know receiving this really high praise and you know roger also has cash to spare so it’s like it’s not bad and she doesn’t well love him but he clearly loves her so she can be satisfied and you know her high school reunion is this year and if there’s one thing she would love it would be to write (nee halliwell) on her nametag, to show she got the job, she got the guy, and she’s living pretty in pac heights. so when roger proposes, she says yes. and piper’s happy for her and phoebe thinks roger’s a sleaze and grams is lukewarm but what does grams know about a long lasting marriage and what does phoebe know about anything so blah blah blah she goes to that high school reunion with a big ol rock on her finger and this that and the other and like to be perfectly frank coming home to roger is not like the highlight of her day there’s not this comforting glow when she falls asleep next to him but it’s like. she’s committed. she’s gonna see this through. besides, they’re already working on the guest list and venue and everything like she’s in it now there’s no turning back now and it’s fine like roger’s fine he’s perfectly palatable and she’s encroaching on 30 so. well whatever prue and roger host an easter party and it’s so cute she’s in a darling floral dress dazzling roger’s stuck up parents and eating finger sandwiches when she hears voices coming from the bedroom and is like gonna pretend to ignore it when she catches piper’s eye and piper has that uncomfortable look on her face and she realizes she can’t find phoebe anywhere and Where Is Roger and she busts in on the two of them looking disheveled and phoebe’s like prue- and prue’s like i don’t want to hear it and roger’s like baby- and prue’s like not now and she turns to phoebe like i think it’s best you go and she looks at roger like we’ll talk about this later your parents are wondering where you are so piper drives phoebe home and phoebe’s telling her about how she went to confront roger on being a whore and also like a spineless sleazebag and she was gonna tell prue when he totally started hitting on her and trying to kiss her and then prue broke in and piper’s like uh huh uh huh bc like. she doesn’t like roger all that much. and she agrees with phoebe. but still this thought sorta lingers at the back of her mind like could phoebe have done something? purely to get back at prue? no she wouldn’t. probably. meanwhile roger’s like your sister was totally hitting on me blah blah blah and prue’s like we can talk about it later right now we’re hosting a very nice party and i’m not going to have you ruin in and roger’s like see that’s what i love about you and prue’s like yeah cool and now whenever she comes home to roger she’s just like 🙄 and she’s like complaining to piper about how like she like doesn’t really want to marry him but it’s like too late now the venue’s booked and the save-the-dates have been sent out and piper’s like it’s not too late until you say i do. do you really want to be married to that sleazebag? and prue’s like :| and piper’s like you can call off the wedding and prue’s like :| and piper’s like i’m just saying and prue’s like does he remind you of dad? and piper’s like what? and prue’s like i think roger’s just like victor. i think i’m about to make the same mistake mom made. god, i always wondered how she could have married such a douchebag and here i am about to do the exact same thing! and piper’s not really commenting bc she doesn’t really remember dad but what she does say is you haven’t made that mistake yet so prue’s like you’re right. and that night she calls of the engagement.

[allthefilmsiveseenforfree]

Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey

I know next to nothing about Harley Quinn. I didn’t really grow up with Batman: The Animated Series, and I certainly didn’t see Suicide Squad because I don’t hate myself but I DO hate method actors who use playing dark and disturbed characters as an excuse to treat the real people around them like shit! But I knew from the first trailer that I would probably be on board with this version of Joker’s ex-partner in crime because Margot Robbie is just a goddamn delight and because it’s about a diverse group of women just like...kicking ass, dude. Also a lot of the time they’re wearing leather and spandex. I’M ONLY HUMAN. Given Harley’s somewhat checkered past in terms of empowering characterization, I was certainly curious about which version we would ultimately get here. Would this be the lovesick domestic violence victim, little more than the Joker’s sidekick? Would this be the unhinged sociopath, just as hellbent on violence and chaos as her boyfriend? Would this be the silly, sassy femme fatale who does what she wants and just has a ton of fun doing it? Well...

A mix of all three, really, and in trying to have their cake and eat it too, DC has managed to create a version of Harley Quinn that’s nuanced, complicated, and the kind of character that could anchor her own prestige cable drama for 5 seasons if women were allowed to do that. The basic plot is simple: Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and the Joker have broken up, and without his protection, there are a BUNCH of people in Gotham City who really want her dead, but none more than Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor). Meanwhile, Roman’s trying to get his hands on this really big diamond that’s been stolen by a scrappy lil pickpocket named Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco, who holds her own against these other powerhouse actresses with aplomb). Basically everyone else in the movie is either trying to find Harley or find Cassandra and by the time they all come together in the last act of the movie, everyone’s just trying to prevent Roman from blowing everyone the fuck up. 

Some thoughts:

First of all, I had a great fucking time. The colors, the chaotic energy, the pure FUN of the whole thing is intoxicating. Cathy Yan’s direction and Christina Hodson’s rollicking good time of a script combine to form something that’s just a bomb ass time at the movies. 

I feel like it goes without saying, but Margot Robbie owns every second that she’s on screen. She’s equal parts merry and mayhem, and she does bad things sometimes. But you still root for her, you can’t help it. Robbie is magnetic - you cannot take your eyes off her, even if you want to, and she imbues Harley with so much pathos and growth in spite of her less than savory actions that she could kick both Don Draper and Walter White’s ass no problem.  

Ewan McGregor’s American accent isn’t great, but honestly, he’s having a great fucking time too so I don’t mind it so much.

The costuming is FANTASTIC. I am shouting out the film’s costume designer, Erin Benach, SO HARD here because she did an incredible job. Every single character’s outfits are unique and perfectly perfect for their personality and arc. Roman is all velvet blazers with no shirt and leather gloves and Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell, who I have loved since Friday Night Lights and I love even MORE now because she did all her own singing in this and is just so good) wears the most incredible sultry-lounge-singer-with-a-Pam-Grier-throwback-vibe gold and black ensembles. Most of all, I love that Harley’s outfits are revealing - slutty even - without feeling gross or exploitative. They’re slutty in a way women like, which is so refreshing I could cry. 

I really enjoyed the soundtrack and score as well. There’s some Heart, Joan Jett, and Kesha going on, but there’s also a fire Megan Thee Stallion and Normani track over the credits. And the score is effective but not invasive, which I always appreciate.

Speaking of the credits, there is not a post-credits scene exactly but there is a little easter egg of a joke that was worth staying for!

Everything about this movie reveals a thoughtfulness and engagement with the female characters that unfortunately just doesn’t happen that often in films created by and for men. You know how I know this film allowed women to be in the rooms where the decisions happen? Because Harley and her frenemies are sexy but not overtly sexualized; every single woman in this movie has her own arc and character growth; they’re strong without being forced into the Strong Female Character archetype; and the camera frames their faces rather than their tits. 

I love Bruce the hyena so much because he is perfect and has never done anything wrong in his whole life. 

For as gay as this movie is, I am pleased to report that it is also ACTUALLY GAY because there are lesbian characters in it! Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez, taking NO SHIT) and Ellen Yee (Ali Wong) are ex-girlfriends! Who are specifically named as lesbians! Imagine! The novelty!

There is a brief scene of sexual humiliation that is deeply uncomfortable to watch, but you know how I know it was directed by a woman? Because the scene is brief but impactful, it is meant to showcase how evil Roman is, and the way the scene is shot we are forced to focus on the woman’s face or her knees rather than her bra and underwear. 

I confess, I had to laugh when Roman finally put on his big evil character mask because he looks like an evil luchador.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is so hot as Huntress that I thought I was going to dehydrate myself into a coma while watching this movie. Her lack of people skills only made me love her more. Between this and Ramona Flowers, MEW is the gift that keeps on giving to ladygays of my generation.

I just feel like I can’t stress enough how much I loved all the moments that were included in this film because women were the ones creating it. Harley offers Black Canary a hair tie in the middle of a fight scene and I felt like my heart grew three sizes in that moment, which was so simple and funny and perfect.

For an R-rated comic book movie, it’s shockingly not very bloody. I was expecting cartoonish levels of Deadpool-style gore, but really the only R-rated thing the film showcases is naughty language. There’s certainly violence, but again, it doesn’t feel gross or exploitative.

Did I Cry? No, I was having too much fun!

Each of these women ultimately save themselves from their own circumstances - be it an abusive relationship, a shitty job, a mission of vengeance, or just being held in the clutches of a madman. I cannot recommend this movie enough for its sheer joy at its own existence and every thoughtful choice that was made behind and in front of the camera to tell a story about women that can compete with the big boys. 

If you liked this review, please consider reblogging or subscribing to my Patreon! For as low as $1, you can access bonus content and movie reviews, or even request that I review any movie of your choice.

[cherrysunflowers]

ok but the idiots for that nsfw meme :-)

r :) u :) ready :) 

• who kissed who first?

m&b: if I remember correctly, it was brook that kissed him first bc she was drunk or high or something??? but then mason was like “!!! no !!” bc he didn't wanna take advantage of her bc is a good baby :’(

z&a: this one was zach, after their first date n everything while they were at her place watching harry potter together for the first time ever :’)

• who made the first move?

m&b: this was brook again !! and she was drunk/high again!! and mason told her no again !!! bc he is a good boy !!! 

z&a: zach !! rmr it was on halloween after brooks halloween party n she told him she had never been with anyone before and :’((

• what’s the relationship like?

m&b: best friends but with with the benefits of being a couple. :’) and also definitely more uhhhh promiscuous than ur usual best friends romance bc they cant keep their hands to themselves oOP

a&z: they're most definitely two big children doin juvenile activities ok like yea they're both in their twenties but they definitely still make blanket forts and get into tickle fights and all that shit and I love it :’( 

• who’s the most possessive?

m&b: def brook I feel like?? like that is HER mans and NO ONE will EVER fuckin have him or else they will die by her sword okay 

z&a: def zach bc addie is the least confrontational person and he also wants everyone to know that she !! is his !! 

• what’s their favourite way to kiss?

m&b: I feel like big ol’ kisses on the lips is mostly how they kiss? like go hard or go home yknow, like even tho they peck each others cheeks and foreheads n stuff, their main kisses are just KISSES yknow

z&a: addie !! loves !! sweet lil kisses !! like lil cheek kisses or forehead kisses !! like they're small but they mean the world and she never takes them for granted, and I feel like she’d give those kisses to zach all the time n vice versa

• who tops during sex?

m&b: honestly its not ever specific or planned for them, whatever happens just happens and they’re happy either way y’know?? like as long as it feels good for the both of them it doesn't matter

z&a: I feel like its kinda mainly zach since hes so dominant, but addie would def top every once in awhile if she's rlly feelin it y’know?? bitch honestly just wants to be fuckin killed by zach in bed tho lbr

• thoughts on sex toys?

m&b: ok I feel like they'd be cool w sex toys?? like they've def used them before, and they def have a drawer of all of that shit in their room but it would only be for like ?? special occasions yknow??

z&a: ok bitch we both know addie is a kinky bitch ok u know they'd have at least a few toys and u know addie would love them handcuffs or whatever the fuck ok like bitch is cute and shy on the outside but on the inside she just wants to be choked to death 

• most sensitive areas?

m&b: for mason, I feel like its his hair or collarbones or neck??? like hes done for if any of those things get thrown into the mix 

z&a: for addie its her Neck bitch omf even a simple peck on her neck would make her feel things I stg

• do they shower/bathe together? if so, how far does anything go?

m&b: shower sex, bath sex, u name it, its happened ok they literally cannot keep their hands off of each other 

z&a: honestly same as mason and brook ??? like I feel like bath sex is a lil less of a thing bc addie would only ever take baths to relax n shit, but !!!

• how do they like their sex?

m&b: I feel like it goes from passionate and tender to like ,,, fuckin savage and crazy the next like ,,, they r both sides of the spectrum it just depends on the day yknow 

z&a: definitely either sweet and full of giggles and laughter, or zach is choking addie to death while muttering some rlly dirty shit in her ear like ,,, once again it depends on the day

• how rough can the sex get before its taken too far?

m&b: ok here's the thing. due to brook’s past, mason would only go as far as brook would want. bc he would be scared of triggering her and making her spiral, so he would be really careful with how rough he gets w her. 

z&a: ok honestly it can def get pretty rough between them, like def choking and spanking and hair pulling and shit, but once again, I feel like zach would be pretty careful with addie bc of her past too yknow 

• favourite sex position?

m&b: ok but for mason it would be brook on top bc he just thinks she looks so pretty on top :’)

z&a: honestly probably anything where zach is on top for addie??? she likes a dominant man what can I say 

• if they would have a threesome, who would their third choice be?

m&b: ok lets face it why do I have the feeling brook would lowkey think of addie if the convo ever came up but like I feel like she wouldn't act on it tho yknow lmAO

z&a: ok pls we both know zach wouldn't wanna share and addie is too scared of adding a third person into the mix sO 

[themusicplayedherlife]

Full House

2. “Why am I here, anyways?” & 3. “And who are you again?”

pairing: steve rogers x reader

characters: reader, jemma s., daisy , elena r., mysterious stranger?!

word count: 1.8k

summary: i’ve combined ch 2 &3 because why not? thank you guys for the interest in the first chapter ;w; i wasnt really expecting much, but just knowing some of you like it was really heart warming ;w;

previous || all || next

The liquid sloshes back and forth as you twirl the glass in your hand before throwing it back. You ignore the burning in your throat and slam the glass back down for another refill.

“Wow. Been a while since you’ve pounded back a straight shot of vodka,” Daisy whispers bewilderedly, bottle of squirt in one hand and another glass of the clear liquor in the other.

She’s not the only one staring at you like that; Jemma is too. She blinks owlishly as she says, “Their divorce must be really bothering you.”

Elena pushes back Daisy’s arm holding the soda, stopping it from over filling her cup. “No shit,” she mumbles earning a swift slap to the arm from Jemma.

“It’s not the divorce that’s bothering me, it’s the fact they got one without any one of us noticing!” You assert, more forcefully than intended and swipe the bottle of vodka from Daisy’s hand to fill your cup. “Someone from the courthouse would have told us!”

Jemma winces as you once more throw back another—or maybe three—shots of vodka. She gently coaxes the bottle out of your hand and you let her take it from you. “Right, maybe let’s take these slow? You and vodka don’t exactly mix well.”

You slump in your seat. “Two years. Two fucking years and they tell us now?”

“Did they tell you why they hid it for so long?” Jemma asks soothingly, trying to ease your frayed emotions.

“No,” you say with an exhale. “They didn’t get the chance to because we had to rush to the emergency room.”

“What? Why? Are your parents okay? Why didn’t you call us?” Jemma asks.

“They’re fine,” you say. “It was Michael who got hurt. He was playing with the girls and saw that Cassie was about to fall into the pond and broke her fall. Got a mean fracture in his foot.”

Daisy takes a sip of her drink. “Yikes!” You nod, rubbing your left arm. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. Going to be in a cast for a while, though.”

Jemma grimaces. “Tough. So your parents weren’t in the mood to explain after that or...?”

You sigh, eyes roaming away from your friends. “No, my parents stayed home while the rest of us went with Clint and his family to the hospital.” And that was yesterday

Elena perks up at that, pausing mid drink to narrow her eyes. “You just left your parents alone at the house after that bomb?”

You wince at the accusatory tone in her voice; that’s exactly what you did.

It was a complete mess.

Everyone was running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off. Michael and Cassie were crying and apologizing to each other all the while Lulu was cackling. It took Natasha delegating for everyone to finally get their heads on straight and get everyone out the door. Well, almost everyone.

“We’re coming with you!” Your dad had said, moving quickly to grab his keys off of the rack on the wall.

“No!” You startled at the force behind Clint’s voice. Your eyes wide as you stared at your older brother’s stern expression. It had taken you completely off guard. He was usually so calm and collected, never letting things get to him.

“But—“ Your mom started, hoping to convince him.

“No,” he repeated, voice softer, but strained. “You can’t just-“ he lets out a frustrated sigh-“ we need time to process what you just told us and we can’t do that when you’re hovering over us. Right now, the most important thing is focusing on Michael.”

“Clint—“

He turned away from them and all you could do was follow after him, ignoring your parents with a heavy heart.

“We’ll see you at the hospital,” Pietro told them after they settled in the car with Natasha as the driver, Clint in shotgun, and the kids in the back with Scott. The three of you waited until the black SUV pulled out of the driveway before heading towards Pietro’s beat up corolla.

“Kids…” Your mom‘s worried voice caused you to pause, unsure whether to answer or not. Were you guys being unfair to your parents? Maybe. But Clint was right. All of you needed time to process the situation, and them being around you would not help at all.

You shared a glance with the twins and with a reluctant sigh, Wanda turned to them with a neutral smile and said, “I’ll… I’ll call you later to update you guys.”

Still, needing time to process doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt turning your back on your parents.

You steal Elena’s drink before she can take a sip and down it, the bubbly drink mixed with vodka making it hard to swallow. “It’s all types of fucked up, isn’t it?”

You feel heavy, body leaning right and then left, never being able to stay straight. Your head is in the clouds and all you can picture is home where your family is waiting for you. “Home,” you whisper. But you’re not home, you’re in a cold place, where the seating is uncomfortable and you’ve hit your head on something sturdy a couple of times.

“Are you okay?” Worry laced into a deep voice asks. He sounds nice, warm even. Is it dad? Or maybe one of your brothers? He repeats his question, a little louder and even more worried.

“Yes. No. Maybe,” you whine. “I don’t know.”

He asks you something else, but you can’t really hear him. There’s a buzzing in your ear that overtakes you and you can’t help but let it sway you. It’s a sweet lullaby.

“Why am I here, anyway?” you ask the air. When you should be home in your bed and warm.

The last thing you feel are warm arms wrapping around you.

Groaning, you turn under the heavy restraint of a blanket. Your head is pounding; your eyes heavy as you try your best to open them against the warm rays filtering into your room. You give up. Pulling the blanket over your head, you’re suddenly engulfed by a woodsy smell—pine? Sandalwood? Ugh. No. Not thinking about it. Head hurts.

A gentle knock at the door makes you groan again. It opens with a soft creak and heavy footfalls against carpet register in your brain.

“Pietro,” you croak. “I swear to god, if you try and pick me up, I will not hesitate to hit you in the groin.”

A chuckle that definitely doesn’t sound like your brother’s responds to your mild threat and it’s enough to have you throwing the blanket off of you and sitting up quickly. Which you immediately regret. Greatly.

Rubbing at your temple, a cup of water and a hand holding out aspirin appear in your line of vision. “Here, these might help.”

With a low thank you, you take them from the stranger and throw back the small pill and chug down all of the water. It’s a nice welcome to your parched throat. “You didn’t poison me did you?”

He laughs. “Shouldn’t you have asked that before taking it?”

You shrug. “I was desperate.” Finally looking up, your tired eyes are blessed by a beautiful man; and you’re not exaggerating. He’s gorgeous! Sandy blonde hair, baby blue eyes, chiseled face covered in scruff; delicious muscular build wrapped in a red Henley and black joggers. You gasp, eyes widening. Have you died and gone to heaven? How else would you have managed to land in his bed?

His smile wavers, eyes narrowing with worry. “You okay?”

You blink once, then twice as he waits patiently for you to speak up. “Oh, uh, yeah, I’m fine. But uh, who are you again? And how did I get-” you look around the simple room with wooden furniture and little knickknacks here and there-“here?”

He rubs the back of his neck. “I’m Steve. Steve Rogers. I found you half passed out on the stairs.”

“Stairs?” Oh, shit. You were at Daisy’s weren’t you? And you got hammered! Fuck! Wanda and Pietro must be worried sick! “My phone!”

You slap the bedding, searching frantically for your phone.

“It’s on the bedside table,” he suddenly says. At his words, you practically flung yourself to grab it, finding it connected to a charger. “I wanted to call a friend or order you an Uber or something but I realized it was dead.”

Relief fills you when you disconnect it from the charger and it turns on with a simple click. “Thank you.” Slowly, but surely, your phone begins to vibrate with incoming messages and voicemails.

Steve whistles in amazement as your phone goes off with notifications. “Wow. Your friends must be worried about you.”

Your face blanches as you read through the messages.

Wanda:

Hey, I know you’re at Daisy’s, but let me know if you’re going to stay over or if you need a ride.

Pietro:

wanda and i r worried lil sis! call us soon

Daisy:

Home yet?

Ugh drunk

Call me towmr

Can’t spell bye

Clint:

You okay? Wanda just texted to ask if you’re over at my place, and obviously you’re not. Getting a little worried here.

The Nest

Wanda:

Still not answering her phone!

Clint:

Have you tried calling Daisy?

Scott:

U think she’s lashing out? Finally hitting her rebellious stage?

Pietro:

she’s not you, scott

Wanda:

Yes! She said they all saw her schedule an Uber

Scott:

Ouch!

Wanda:

Everything after that is apparently a blur

That’s not funny, Scott!!!!!!!!!!!!

Should we call the police?

File a report?

Pietro just said we can’t because it hasn’t been more than 24 hours

Clint:

I’ll go look for her

Wanda:

Pietro and I’ll go with you

Scott:

Luis isn’t home, can’t leave Cassie, keep me updated

“Fuck,” you exclaim, jumping out of bed. “Shoes, shoes, shoes!”

“They’re by the entrance—“

You don’t let him finish, you’re already zooming past him and out into the small corridor connected to his kitchen and living room. You almost topple over his neat furniture, but somehow manage to keep yourself upright.

Just as Steve said, your flats are by the entrance, next to a full shoe rack. Slipping on your shoes, you order an Uber through the app—fuck! Your history says you did schedule an Uber last night! But if your phone died and you stayed inside, then… fuck me! You really need to stop drinking vodka.

“Be careful,” you hear Steve say as you open the door. “No more sleeping in staircases!

“No promises,” you answer back, turning around to find him leaning against his kitchen counter with an amused smile. “Thank you for not being a creep!”

The Nest

You:

Guys! I am so sorry! I’m on my way home now! But I promise I’m okay!

Clint:

You are in so much trouble!

Pietro:

look at that, baby sis is alive after all

Wanda:

You almost gave me a heart attack!

You:

I am so sorry!

Scott:

So

Did you finally rebel? You did, didn’t you?! Proud of you little troublemaker you!

Wanda disliked “Did you finally rebel? You did, didn’t you...”

Pietro disliked “Did you finally rebel? You did, didn’t you...”

Clint disliked “Did you finally rebel? You did, didn’t you...”

Scott:

It was a joke!!!!!!!

[mvjesties]

yeets this post 100mph onto the dash like a shit flingin monkey  AYoO it is i lacey and this right here is a short intro post for my newest Good Boy issa sooo...

smiles weakly n hands u my trash. hit that ♥ and i’ll come to you for plots !

PERSONALITY & LIFESTYLE

he is

foreign,, haven’t entirely pinpointed which country yet (ideally a small one) but i imagine issa is a mix of middle-eastern and caribbean.

as for his accent, if any of you watch game of thrones i’d like to think he has an accent similar (but not as heavy as) grey worm when he speaks english? rolled r’s, some hard consonants, most sentences are spoken in a low octave under his breath

aside from english, issa is fluent in arabic, spanish, and french in that order.

painfully well-intentioned. isn’t one to get involved in things unless he feels he must, but as far as others go, he always wants what’s best for them. 

selective of his company, but at the same time isn’t? he loves getting to know people plenty (and in more ways than one, wink wonk) but he does get critical about those he draws close. issa’s better known for being a kooky enigma of some sort, but he’s always open to be a confidant for anyone who feels they need one.

he enjoys deep conversations, isn’t afraid to ask intimate questions, and likes to understand others as much as he possibly can. he’s articulate although english isn’t his first language. he tries his best.

as i briefly touched upon earlier, issa isn’t totally closed off to familiarizing himself with those who spark an interest to him. he tends to get harmlessly (i hope jkdjfnk) flirtatious with company from time to time. the funny part is that sometimes it’s possible to catch him off guard when reciprocating the flirtation and the tips of his ears and cheeks will begin to glow bright pink

long story short he’s welcome to one night stands and friends with benefits but relationships is where it gets tricky,, he doesn’t understand the idea of being committed to a single person (not yet anyway,, he tried it once with daisey and she ended up cheating on him lmfao)

but he’s not afraid of being emotionally vulnerable to others in different ways. sometimes he’s blunt, and sometimes he beats around the bush. i guess it depends on the person and his connection with them

this isn’t to say that he necessarily cares or doesn’t care about others, but he would never go out of his way to cause anyone harm, is all. the boy just wants to have a good time.

a man of solitude. always has learned things best on his own, spent down-time on his own, and bounced back from hardships on his own. this isn’t to say that he’s not sociable, however. he enjoys company very much. he just prefers to be away from the crowds at gatherings, should he have the option to meander away.

unlike most magicians, actually doesn’t crave to be the center of attention. he still does the shows because they’re a good source of income aside from his shop, and he loves watching wonder flicker between darting eyes that second after he’s finished a trick. can’t promise he’ll perform magic for you every time you ask, but your odds of seeing a trick are much better than if you don’t mention it at all.

which brings me to the next section of information, the magic issa specializes in!*

(* you don’t have to read this part unless you’re interested. it’s just me going in depth about his magic style)

ISSA’S MAGIC

a very important thing you should know about issa is the style of magic he partakes in. while issa does happen to be a magician, we’re not quite talking your normal parlor tricks you’d see at a flashy show or a kid’s birthday party. issa’s interest lies elsewhere on a fine line between spiritual themes and something they call bizarre magic.

if you’re not sure what that is, allow me to explain!

akin to parlor tricks, bizarrists use sleight of hand and illusions, yes. but it incorporates a bigger purpose, thus making the magic tricks simply an element of the story, not the main focus. 

the difference, however, is that bizarre magic lies under an art form which utilizes mild discomfort for the full theatrical effect. this feeling of discomfort an audience may experience comes from a place where one might infer that the style of magic projected comes from an ominous place (in issa’s case, theatrical seance, etc). but, this is what makes the magic feel more real to those watching. so while magic is in fact, still part of the show, the audience is still caught on the notion that they have begun interacting with the unknown in order for such events to take place.

while he practices forms of magic that is conventionally seen as inauspicious, he doesn’t wish to portray any form of ill-will to those around him. i’d imagine he kinda gives off vibes of a witch-doctor or healer, perhaps? someone who does practice magic plenty, but never to harm anyone.

issa currently specializes in:

bizarre illusionism: close-up magic, misdirection, escapology

spiritualism: divination, mediumship

issa is currently working on:

mentalism: hypnosis, clairvoyance

MORE OF ISSA’S INTERESTS / LEFTOVER PARTS OF HIS PERSONALITY

kinda lazy when it comes to serious things, just wants to adventure around or take naps instead. pretty easygoing guy

soft-spoken, gentle in nature, and is kind to all that are civil to him. enjoys teasing company, however. but he never means any harm. can sometimes come off a bit sassy, but that’s the most problematic he wishes to be. doesn’t get involved in fights unless absolutely necessary

very big on tarot readings, the zodiac, crystals, the aura/energies people give off, growing his own herbs, etc. one would call him a hippie if he was a lil more drugged out jnfdkgj but he’s crazy enough without em. i imagine him coming off as some sort of gentle witch to everyone else in town JNDFK maybe givin off some eccentric healer meets witch-doctor vibes

someone get him a headdress like melman’s to wear around his shop

often seen in loosely-fitted button downs tucked into simple trousers. very summer style, since he’s known summer all his life where he’s from. pray for him when winter hits cos this man don’t know what a fckin jacket is. also wears a shit-ton of jewelry. we’re talkin at least 4 rings a hand, 2-3 layered necklaces goin down his chest (which explains why his shirt’s always buttoned so goddamn low), a tiny gold hoop in each ear,, he’s not satisfied until he looks like a mfin Christmas tree.

speaking of trees, the environmental conservation club is the only part of school he partakes in aside from classes. he has little care for being a part of the community, but he looooves his plants. talks to them sometimes because he’s a firm believer that it helps them grow

i also have headcanons that he gives inanimate objects pronouns and personalities and absentmindedly speaks to himself from time to time but thats about all i can remember about him for now jdskfbg

you get the general idea by now i Guess

i typed sm more than i thought i would,, oh my god i’m so sorry

[themarauderstheoutsidersandpeggy]

I saw you did the Alphabet with Peter, could you do it with Bucky as well? I love you so much 💗 thank youu 💗💗

This is Day 1 of my week long 700 follower celebration! We are having a week of themed night and Bucky Barnes is the theme of Day 1! Send in things for Bucky!

Masterlist

Join my Taglist

Prompt lists

Also requested: Can you do the fluffy/cute alphabet for Bucky Barnes please! 💓 and COULD THERE BE A BUCKY BARNES ADORABLE ALPHABET THING PLEASE THX

A = Attractive (What do they find attractive about the other?)

Da booty lmfao 

Nah he likes your eyes but dat booty catches his eye every time

B = Baby (Do they want a family? Why/Why not?)

He’s real sacred of hurting everyone so he’s torn. He wants to see you as a mother, but he doesn’t want to hurt the child

C = Cuddle (How do they cuddle?)

You usually initiate it, he’s very cautious when showing affection so it’s up to you if you wanna snuggle

D = Dates (What are dates with them like?)

He takes you out to the lil trolley rides and like picnics and those old-fashioned ways to hang out with you

E = Everything (You are my ____ (e.g. my life, my world…))

“You are my tour guide” - doesn’t sound romantic but he also means this in the relationship sense it’s been a while he’s a little rusty

F = Feelings (When did they know they were in love?)

He’s very paranoid of being double crossed or tricked so it takes him a while to admit to himself that he loves you - it was about a year and a half after you two started dating.

G = Gentle (Are they gentle? If so, how?)

He is the most gentle boi?! Like he’s realllllly gentle he really takes it into his head that he might be able to hurt you somehow :’(

H = Hands (How do they like to hold hands?)

At the start of the relationship he only held your hand with his regular arm, he slowly began getting more and more comfortable with his metal arm around you.

I = Impression (What was their first impression?)

He didn’t really become attracted to you until he got comfortable with people, and you actually met him almost right after he was saved from Hydra so he actually didn’t really like you at first

J = Jealousy (Do they get jealous?)

Yes, but he doesn’t act on it, and he only gets jealous bc he’s self-conscious about his own relationship skills  

K = Kiss (How do they kiss? Who initiated the first kiss?)

You had to initiate it, but once you assure him that he’s allowed to, he does it a lot :’) He kisses really soft aaaaaa

L = Love (Who says ‘I love you’ first?)

He does, you knew that he had to first, bc you didn’t want him to think he HAD to say it back if you said it. you waited for him to say it and said it back when he did :’)

M = Memory (What’s their favourite memory together?)

Oof that’s gonna be the memory of when he took you to the beach and you guys watched the sun come up (no this is not one of my own fics that I’m promoting how dare you)

N = Nickel (Do they spoil? Do they buy the person they love everything?)

No, he spoils you emotionally bc he thinks that that’s better than material goods

O = Orange (What colour reminds them of their other half?)

A mix of orange and pink bc you guys watch the sunset really frequently :’)

P = Pet names (What pet names do they use?)

So in every single fic ever written he calls the reader doll and who tf am I to contradict that?  also love and babe tho

Q = Quaint (What is their favourite non-modern thing?)

He really isn’t in tune to modern things so anything he does is really ‘non-modern’

I’d say a lazy sunday would always make him smile :)

R = Rainy Day (What do they like to do on a rainy day?)

Stay inside and snuggle up with you and some hot chocolate

You guys take turns reading to each other :’)

S = Sad (How do they cheer themselves/others up?)

To cheer himself up he relies completely on you, you really are his person :’)

To cheer you up he just snuggles with you 

To cheer others up (really just Steve) he just lets them talk and really actually listens

T = Talking (What do they like to talk about?)

He likes to talk about you!!! Even to you he will just talk about his favorite things you do, aaaaa

U = Unencumbered (What helps them relax?)

A tub of ice cream, come blankets, and youuuuu

V = Vaunt (What do they like to show off? What are they proud of?)

He’s proud of you, he shows you off, he really doesn’t like himself argh I’m gonna cry

W = Wedding (When, how, where do they propose?)

He proposed six years after you guys started dating, he proposes by taking you on a ferris wheel and doing it there so that it was absolutely private and you couldn’t escape :’)

X = Xylophone (What’s their song?)

His song is demons by imagine dragons bc he really loves you but he’s scared that if you get to close to him that he’s gonna hurt you :’(

Y = Yes (Do they ever think of getting married/proposing?)

Yes, only after the five years of dating, he proposes after six years 

Z = Zebra (If they wanted a pet, what would they get?)

Like just a dog or a cat this boy needs some simple lovin

Taglist: @peachybabykxo @5aftermidnight @Spideyyypeter @book-wyrm-snacks @loki-sharpe-hiddleston-imagines @set-phasers-to-cuddle @thecurlyhairedwinchester @lou-la-lou @ilostcount-helpme @snazzy-posts @meisiisem @stevieboyharrington @clean-and-claire @peter-null @embrace-themagic @yafriendlyfangirl @fandomnerdsarecool @ellen_emb @soniaxmsj @avngersunite @m4shtyx @sparkling-gayyy @nervous-shawn @americaswritings @robinkat3 @buckybabyy @mrsstarkstrange @servamp-addict @Darkworld-Student @alexiamiky2003 @freightcarcap @dumbasscorn @cordelia-sagewright @multifandomshitblog @snoploop @johnnycadeissocute @all-thegayships @briisasinamonroll @bonjouritsellaa @ardentmuse @blueivysuniverse @dark-night-sky99 @ilovetvshowsblog @s0cial-retard @lady-of-lies

[thirstinmore-blog]

Best Albums of 2018

BEST ALBUMS 2018

20. Noname: Room 25

19. Jeremih & Ty Dolla $ign: Mih-Ty

18. Tierra Whack: Whack World

17. Parks Burton: Pare

16. Oneohtrix Point Never: Age Of

15. Angelique Kidjo: Remain in Light

14. Shannon Shaw: Shannon in Nashville

13. Curren$y & Freddie Gibbs: Fetti

12. Ariana Grande: Sweetener

11. Vince Staples: FM!

10. DJ Koze: Knock Knock

9. Mariah Carey: Caution

8. Courtney Barnett: Tell Me How You Really Feel

7. The Carters: Everything is Love

6. Snail Mail: Lush

5. Shannon & the Clams: Onion

4. Teyana Taylor: K.T.S.E.

3. Kacey Musgraves: Golden Hour

2. Blood Orange: Negro Swan

1. Dirty Projectors: Lamp Lit Prose

(Spotify playlist)

(Capsule reviews of Top 10 below) 

10. DJ Koze: Knock Knock.  The music writing trope of “a sounds like b + c” is as lazy as it is played, but sometimes you hear a record and those type of comparisons spring to mind, like when I first heard Saint Pepsi’s Hit Vibes and instantly thought of J Dilla making a disco record.  That was also my response to Knock Knock, which sounds like the Avalanches making a more patient update of Since I Left You for 2018 ears.  The record is long and lush, and draws from roughly nine billion different aesthetics, but its particular mélange still manages to sound fresh.  As with SILY, the album is best experienced as a complete piece of music (though several tracks, such as “Lord Knows” and “Scratch That” would sound great in a mix or DJ set).  Knock Knock takes the listener through ambling pathways that wrap around and revisit each other, like an evening stroll through the spacious Joshua Tree National Park depicted on its cover.  It’s nearly a two-hour journey, but it’s well worth the price of admission.

9. Mariah Carey: Caution.  Mariah got a dirty mouth and I’m here for it.  As mother, a twice-divorcée, a woman nearing 50, her work and her image are all her own; if she wants to include the word “fuck” in a bunch of songs on her new album (“GTFO,” “With You,” “The Distance”), then who the fuck are we to tell her no?   It’s a refreshing twist from someone whose public persona is often so curated, but I’m burying the lede.  The real story here is that Caution is a batch of excellent R&B songs from one of the genre’s all-time greats.  It’s not overwrought – by contrast, the album’s sultry blue cover art is indicative of the moods within.  The Ty Dolla $ign-featuring “The Distance” is laid extremely deep in the cut, assisted by some subtle production from Poo Bear, Lido and—holy shit, Skrillex?  Yup, and like Mariah herself, everyone involved uses an even hand and measured patience to let each song breathe.  

A personal highlight for me is “A No No,” which flips the Lil Kim/Lil Cease classic “Crush On You” on its head.  Here, where Biggie intones “he’s a slut, he’s a hoe, he’s a freak/got a different girl every day of the week,” there is no irony intended.  She gauges her suitors’ intent and responds simply: “that’s a no-no.”  In fact, the word “no” accounts for easily half the song’s lyrics, but it’s still a blast on subsequent listens.  But don’t get it twisted – highlights abound herein, from aforementioned singles “GTFO” and “The Distance” to the thoughtful, expansive, Dev Hynes-helmed “Giving Me Life,” which begins as a downtempo club hit and morphs into a surrealist dream.  Mariah Carey is one of the artists who’s been in my life the longest – I’m so happy she’s still killing it.

8. Courtney Barnett: Tell Me How You Really Feel.  Courtney Barnett is what I was raised to believe an indie rock star should be: an unassuming, smart slacker with regular clothes and the ability to unleash earthbound poetry and atmosphere-puncturing solos with equal aplomb.  That effortless cool permeates every facet of her work, from her casual half-singing style to her loose but proficient playing, a mighty guitar god in the body of a humble 31-year-old.  (That she recorded a collaborative record with renowned cool guy Kurt Vile should surprise no-one.)  But what’s really striking about Barnett’s work is her wryly observant lyrics; whether she’s describing the banalities of urban life (“City Looks Pretty”) or eviscerating toxic masculinity (“Nameless, Faceless”), her keen eye and incisive wit pervade every line.  Tell Me is the sound of a strong artist getting stronger.

7. The Carters: Everything is Love.  I often say that as I get older, my favorite elements of songwriting are editing and restraint.  That’s why I tend to hate double albums and love EPs.  I just believe that most double albums would be better if distilled down to one really strong record.  EPs, on the other hand, leave the listener wanting more.  Such is the case with Everything is Love, which reads like a Beyonce trap record with a number of guest verses from Jay. Regardless of speculation on who did the lion’s share of the writing on the record, both are in top form.  Bey’s signature vocal virtuosity is on display as ever, but the real delight is in her capable delivery as a rapper.  She glides effortlessly through triplets like “Poppin, I’m poppin, my bitches are poppin, we go to the dealer and cop it all.”  Big Sean could never.  Meanwhile, Jay turns in a few of my favorite bars of the year (and also a very slick Drake diss) on “Boss:”

“You not a boss, you got a boss. N*ggas gettin’ jerked, that shit hurts, I take it personaly.  N*ggas’d rather work for the man than to work for me.  Just so they can pretend they on my level, that shit is irkin’ to me.  Pride always goeth before the fall, almost certainly.  It’s disturbing what I gross.  Survey says: you not even close.  Everybody’s bosses till the time to pay for the office, till them invoices separate the men from the boys. Over here we measure success by how many people successful next to you.  Here, we say you broke if everybody is broke except for you. BAWSE.”

I don’t know if they intend to release more records as The Carters, but Everything is Love is a fun, successful experiment.

6. Snail Mail: Lush.  There’s no reason for a debut LP to be this good.  The record, from solo project-turnt-band of 19-year-old Lindsay Jordan is focused, clever, and sophisticated.  Every component of these songs appears exactly as it should.  Jordan’s songwriting is clean and incisive (“I hope whoever it is holds their breath around you/’cause I know I did,” she sings on album standout “Heat Wave”).  The arrangements are smartly simple; seldom do they deviate from the four-person rock lineup, so the embellishments that are included (the French horn on “Deep Sea,” the layered keys on “Speaking Terms”) really leap out.  The playing throughout is lovely, with Jordan’s beautiful guitar technique front and center (the finger-picking on “Let’s Find an Out” is a particular delight). Everything in its right place – only where Radiohead’s inward gaze can be mopey and self-indulgent, the core strength of Lush is its efficiency.  There’s no filler here – just the exact amount of support that each piece requires.  The drumming feels especially strong in this regard – there’s an economic directness in Ray Brown’s playing that prioritizes the backbeat over everything, including his ego. The fills that he does include are modest and workmanlike.

It’s right that the record would be released by Matador, because these songs are drenched in the influences of the 90s slacker rock of Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney and Sebadoh.  And as with each of those bands, Snail Mail’s songs are buoyed by excellent lyrics.  Jordan doesn’t just sound wise beyond her years, she actually seems to have lived more in her 19 years than many folks twice her age.  There’s a subtext of sobriety in some of the songs (“It just feels like the same party every weekend, doesn’t it?” on “Pristine,” or “I’m so tired of moving on/spending every weekend so far gone” on “Heat Wave”).  Perhaps the self-reflection that’s required in recovery has helped to distill her worldview.  

And look, I don’t mean to be patronizing here – this album would be a major achievement from any person of any age.  But to hear an artistic vision this crystal clear and laser-focused from a 19-year-old is something truly special.  I can’t wait to hear what she does next.

5. Shannon & the Clams: Onion.  Upon first listen, Onion struck me as the best record the Clams have released to date.  Now, admittedly, I’m a sucker for keyboards, and the inclusion of organist Will Sprott is pure Patrick-bait.  But beyond my own tastes, the organ both fills out and anchors the Clams’ garage doo-wop sound.  There’s a welcome succinctness to Onion: the songwriting is tight, the guitar playing is melodic and utilitarian, and the vocal performances from both Cody and Shannon are more technically refined than in any of their previous outings.  One wonders if Shannon’s work on her own solo album (the very good, Dan Auerbach-produced Shannon in Nashville, which also came out this year) pushed her to improve her technique.  And don’t get it fucked up – this is still a Clams record.  It’s still shaggy and loud and rambunctious – but they’ve worked hard to reign in their wildest tendencies.  Some might say that it’s layered, just like-- *an oversized cane hooks around my throat and drags me offstage* ….Well…..let’s just say it’s good.

4. Teyana Taylor: KTSE.  Of all the seven-song mini-albums Kanye produced in Wyoming this year, KTSE is both the best and the least talked-about.  She arrives seemingly out of the blue, a fully-formed artist who knows her strengths exactly.  She has bars when she feels like spitting them, a beautiful husky alto when she feels like crooning, and a profound connection to multiple styles of club music that’s borne of her history as a dancer.  It’s become a bit trendy to nod to vogue & ballroom culture in the last few years, but while Drake’s Big Freedia feature on “Nice for What” feels a little forced, Taylor can walk it like she talks it.  A dancer by trade, her comfort in the ballroom is palpable. 

Ye keeps it simple, remaining comfortably in his wheelhouse and flipping excellent soul samples such as Billy Stewart’s “I Do Love You” (which he repurposes into a nostalgic 4/4 slapper on “Hold On”) and The Stylistics’ “Because I Love You, Girl” (which he expands into a melancholy mediation on the horn section of the original).  It’s a welcome return to form.

3. Kacey Musgraves: Golden Hour.  In her SNL performance earlier this year, Kacey Musgraves appeared as a flat-ironed, longhair disco queen.  As she slayed Golden Hour’s catchy lead single “High Horse,” I was reminded of Dolly Parton.  I’ve been spending a lot of time with Dolly’s mid-70s and early-80s catalogue this past year, having purchased vinyl copies of All I Can Do, New Harvest…First Gathering, and Dolly, Dolly, Dolly.  Parton is one of those artists whose discographies are so gigantic as to seem practically impenetrable, so I’ve been trying to hear as much as I can.  Dolly, Dolly, Dolly is an especially interesting entry: released in 1980, it was her 23rd album, and it represents a pretty clear swing for crossover success.  A handful of the tracks are straight-up disco, and these are what Musgraves called to mind.  I was thrilled – Dolly’s disco experiments were widely panned, but I think there’s a lot of good there, maybe Golden Hour would be an attempt to vindicate Parton’s vision?

Unfortunately or not, I was incorrect.  In total, Golden Hour bears more resemblance to Dolly’s friend & frequent collaborator Emmylou Harris (Kacey’s hair should’ve tipped me off, SMH).  It’s a beautiful, understated, and thoughtful set of songs that could fit as well on a folk radio station as a country one.  Like Harris, Musgraves has an innate sense of how to let a great song be great, hanging back in both arrangement and vocal performance.  She’s emotive when she needs to be (“Rainbow”), and contemplative as needed (“Golden Hour”), always letting her writing breathe.  Also, she has the confidence to bury the lead single so deep on Side B that you almost forget it’s there (and are thrilled when it is).  As a person who prefers the full album experience to that of a shuffled playlist, this is one of my very favorite tricks.

Quite simply: great songs + great arrangements = a surprising list-topper for me.

2. Blood Orange: Negro Swan.  For years, the roles of sexuality and gender in black identity have been foci of Dev Hynes’ work as Blood Orange.  He spent time with drag queens and sex workers while writing his debut album Coastal Grooves, and has often cited transgender icon Octavia St. Laurent as one of his primary influences.  But while these interests have colored his previous albums, on Negro Swan they’re the bedrock.  In a press release preceding the album, Hynes described the album as “an exploration into my own and many types of black depression, an honest look at the corners of black existence, and the ongoing anxieties of queer/people of color.  A reach back into childhood and modern traumas, and the things we do to get through it all.  The underlying thread through each piece on the album is the idea of hope, and the lights we can try to turn on within ourselves with a hopefully positive outcome of helping others out of their darkness.”

These ideas are fundamental to the songwriting, and they’re reinforced by snippets of conversations with Janet Mock and Kai the Black Angel (who adorns the cover in a durag and angel wings) peppered throughout the album’s 49 minutes.  On “Family,” Mock defines community as “the spaces where you don’t have to shrink yourself, where you don’t have to pretend or to perform, you can fully show up and be vulnerable in silence, completely empty, and that’s completely enough.”  That search for community, the desire to be seen and loved and supported as your whole self informs each of these beautiful songs.  Already a competent producer, Hynes continues to grow, selecting beautiful flourishes like the jangly, perfectly out-of-tune guitar on “Charcoal Baby” or the soft, echoing snare drum on “Dagenham Dream” to characterize the thematic content of each piece.  Negro Swan is a powerful and complete work of art.  It sounds like he’s finally found some answers to the questions he’s been asking. 

1. Dirty Projectors: Lamp Lit Prose.  On Lamp Lit Prose, David Longstreth appears to be having more fun making music than he has in years, probably because almost 100% of his band has turned over (kudos to longtime bassist Nat Baldwin, whose playing tethers him to his own beginnings).  Beyond the new Projectors themselves, Longstreth spent the months during the writing of the album making new friends in the LA music scene, and bringing them around the studio to record various parts.  Members of Haim contribute to album standout “That’s a Lifestyle,” Syd (of The Internet) anchors the refrain in “Right Now,” and Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold and Vampire Weekend alumnus Rostam Batmanglij stack harmonies onto the swirling ballad “You’re The One.”

I see LLP as the second half of a diptych begun by the self-titled Dirty Projectors, released last year.  While that record wallowed in the pain of a broken relationship with former Projector Amber Coffman, LLP reveals a healed and newly in love protagonist.  Both records feature David Longstreth at his most vocally competent: he’s now able to truly execute the melismatic R&B runs he lovingly wrote and charmingly attempted in his earliest work, his diaphragm now supports his every leap and bound, and his croon is sweeter than ever before.  But furthermore, both albums expand on ideas that have popped up throughout his illustrious and impressive body of work.  Whether he’s reviving the Rise Above era blasts of noisy guitars on “Zombie Conqueror” or revisiting the orchestral ambitions of The Getty Address on the stunningly soulful “I Wanna Feel It All,” Longstreth sounds like a worker with a complete toolbox and a detailed blueprint.  He’s been working at honing his craft for years.

I saw the Projectors in June, at a time when only “Break-Thru” and “That’s a Lifestyle” had leaked.  I didn’t know what to expect, being among the seemingly small minority of fans who liked their previous record.  But their set was staggering.  Flanked by his group of mostly-new faces, Longstreth was bouncing all over the place, proudly showcasing each instrumentalist & vocalist (seemingly everyone had at least one moment in the spotlight), visibly excited about playing with this group of people.  And that makes sense: LLP is Longstreth relishing the fundamental glee of musical collaboration.  The joy is positively bubbling over in tracks like “Right Now,” “I Feel Energy,” and “I Found it in You.”  To see him play these songs live is to wonder if he’s talking about the act of musicmaking itself when he sings: “Ask now, I’m in love for the first time ever.”

[prettylittlecostumers]

Moody Monday: Top 5 Upcoming (and just released) Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books On My Radar.

 One does not simply read too many books. I simply don’t function without one (or ten) good books on my nightstand. The day I’m able to replace all my furniture for piles of books I’ll have reached a lifetime goal.

Above: Me, with my books. Mine. My own. Hoarding much? (Meme source: quickmeme.com)

No, seriously, reading opens a window into such wonderful places for me. It’s like flying.  And depending on how long it’s been since you guys first bumped into my ramblings, you have probably guessed by now that Fantasy (along with history) is my thing.

So I’m alwys watching for new releases, and so far, these are the upcoming (or just released) sci-fi and fantasy books that I wanna get my hands on. There were many releases that are part of longer series, but those would get the post very confusing and I wanted to keep things simple. So, for this list I focused on solo novels or first chapters only. Here we go:

Top 5 Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels I wanna read right now:

5 - The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang

From Amazon: “When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.But surprises aren’t always good.Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.”

R.F.Kuang’s Chinese fantasy epic sounds very interesting. My kind of Fantasy is the one that has history in the mix, and her approach to the Opium Wars and Turn of the Century China mixes nowadays dilemmas - like bullying - with shamanism and traditional Chinese culture that is still largely unexplored in western literature. I can’t wait to dive into this one!

4 - Semiosis by Sue Burke

From Amazon: “Colonists from Earth wanted the perfect home, but they’ll have to survive on the one they found. They don’t realize another life form watches...and waits... Only mutual communication can forge an alliance with the planet's sentient species and prove that humans are more than tools.“

Again, Amazon’s description falls short of what I’ve heard. I’m fascinated with languages and linguistics. I’m a Tolkien fan right? What drives me to this “Lost in Space” type of story is exactly the part that language has to play in it. But I can’t say more until I actually read it...

3 - The Feed by Nick Clark Windo.

From Nerd Much?:  “What would happen if every thought, emotion, and idea were instantaneously shared through a massive international network? What would a global society built upon this look like? And what would happen if this network vanished?That is exactly what happens in Nick Clark Windo’s close-to-home sci-fi, The Feed. Kate and Tom had kept their use of the Feed to a minimum while it existed — but when their six-year-old daughter vanishes in a world suddenly disconnected, they must use whatever means and resources they can to find her. The world is filled with disease and danger overnight, and people change when their lives are changed in such a fundamental way. Don’t miss out on this terrifying, near-future sci-fi tale of family, humanity, and massive change.”

Well, this is just my cup of tea. I think considering Cambridge Analytica, and all the Facebook data collecting fiasco (which gave the world the most dangerously spoiled manchild to ever sit in such a high position of power, among many other Alt-right “gifts” around the globe), “The Feed might just be the most relevant book released in 2018. That’s it for my preview. I’ll tell you more when I read it.

2 - The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander.

From Amazon: “The Only Harmless Great Thing is a heart-wrenching alternative history by Brooke Bolander that imagines an intersection between the Radium Girls and noble, sentient elephants.In the early years of the 20th century, a group of female factory workers in Newark, New Jersey slowly died of radiation poisoning. Around the same time, an Indian elephant was deliberately put to death by electricity in Coney Island. These are the facts.Now these two tragedies are intertwined in a dark alternate history of rage, radioactivity, and injustice crying out to be righted. Prepare yourself for a wrenching journey that crosses eras, chronicling histories of cruelty both grand and petty in search of meaning and justice”.

From what I’ve heard so far, Amazon’s description doesn’t do this masterpiece justice. Bolander mixed Alt-history (the Radium Girls) with fantasy (The elephant culture) to weave a powerful female narrative. I know I’ll suffer, I’ll cry, I’ll be furious, and I can’t wait. It’s our knowledge, our struggle, our thirst for change after all.

1 - The Fall of Gondolin by Christopher Tolkien (Ed.)

I’ve been waiting and hoping for this one since “The Children of Húrin” came out! The Fall of Gondolin is one of the most compelling narratives within “The Silmarillion“. Morgoth and Ulmo, the Lord of Waters, stand against each other through Tuor, Ulmo’s chosen messenger, and king Turgon’s pride. The tragic downfall of Turgon’s dream-like hidden city deserved this closer look and I will be suffering ‘till my copy arrives! August 30th can’t come soon enough! Here’s a lil something to help pass the time ‘till then... Blind Guardian’s own retelling of the Fall of Gondolin aka “Mirror Mirror”.

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior 8/27/21 - CANDYMAN, LILY TOPPLES THE WORLD, TOGETHER, VACATION FRIENDS, NO MAN OF GOD, and More

There’s only one new wide release this week, and I’m so happy about that, that I’m gonna say the name of that movie FIVE TIMES!

Candyman

Candyman

Candyman

CANDYMAN (Universal)

Well, you get the idea. Jordan Peele seems to have done it again with this sequel the 1992 movie from Bernard Rose, although in this case he’s just co-writing and producing along with the film’s actual director, Nia DaCosta, who directed a small indie called Little Woods, which not that many people saw but that played at the Tribeca Film Festival a bunch of years back.

Of course, the movie is really being sold on the basis of Peele’s involvement, because he had such success with two horror movies as a director, the Oscar-winning Get Out in 2017 and Us two years later. Both of those movies grossed over $175 million domestically and another $75 to 82 million overseas. Get Out opened with just $33 million, which is fairly impressive for an R-rated horror comedy, but Us opened with over $70 million based on the popularity and success of Get Out.

Peele and DaCosta have another decent cast with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, possibly best known for playing Black Manta in James Wan’s Aquaman, playing the lead, an artist named Anthony Mccoy, who learns about the myths of the Candyman at the Chicago projects, Cabrini-Green. He also starred in Peele’s Us right after that, and also appeared in The Greatest Showman with Hugh Jackman, another huge domestic hit. Later this year, he’ll appear (presumably as the younger Morpheus) in The Matrix Resurrections. HIs girlfriend and art curator Brianna is played by Teyonah Parris, who might be best known for her role as Monica Rambeau in the Disney+ series, WandaVision, a role she’ll reprise in next year’s The Marvels, which will reunite her with director DaCosta, as she becomes a full-fledged superhero with the film’s star, Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel. The movie also stars Colman Domingo, who had a big breakout by starring in HBO’s Euphoria, the AMC spin-off Fear the Walking Dead, and well-received movies (at least critically) like Zola and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. That’s a pretty amazing trio right there for the movie, and they’ll help the movie get the hoped-for African-American moviegoers but also the young people who enjoy horror.

Horror has generally done okay during the pandemic, although obviously, there’s been a lot of sequels with John Krasinski and Emily Blunt’s A Quiet Place Part II doing the best of all of them. More recent sequels like Escape Room: Tournament of Champions and Don’t Breathe 2 haven’t done as well. And there’s no way around the fact that Candyman is a sequel, but it’s a sequel to a movie that came out nearly 30 years ago, which doesn’t mean that young people will have that close a connection to it.

Maybe it’s no surprise that reviews for the movie have been stellar, similar to Peele’s other two movies, although some definitely have issues with the movie. (My review of Candyman can be found over at Below the Line.)

Candyman seems good for an opening somewhere in the low-to-mid $20 millions, although the anticipation for the movie, and its strong draw within the Black community could give it a nice bump ala the movies Peele has directed. Expect the movie to do especially well on Thursday and Friday, but I think anticipation will make it fairly front-loaded as would be the case with most horror movies released in the summer. (I also expect a massive 55%+ drop next week when Marvel opens Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.)

But in the meantime, this is where I see this week’s top 10.

1. Candyman (Universal) - $22.7 million N/A

2. Free Guy (20th Century/Disney) - $11.5 million -38%

3. Paw Patrol: The Movie (Paramount) - $7.5 million -43%

4. Jungle Cruise (Walt Disney Pictures) - $3.9 million -40%

5. Don’t Breathe 2 (Sony/Screen Gems) - $2.5 million -50%

6. Respect (MGM) - $2 million -47%

7. The Suicide Squad (Warner Bros.) - $1.6 million -52%

8. The Night House (Searchlight) - $1.5 million -48%

9. The Protégé (Lionsgate) - $1.4 million -52%

10. Reminiscence (Warner Bros.) - $900k -54%

A great film I saw at SXSW earlier this year that’s finally coming out and is therefore, this week’s “THE CHOSEN ONE” is the doc LILY TOPPLES THE WORLD (Discovery+) from director Jeremy Workman, which follows the amazing life of 20-year-old domino artist and YouTube sensation Lily Hevesh, who has built up a following due to her amazing domino constructions.

The movie works as a documentary on so many levels, first in terms of relaying Lily’s history as a Chinese orphan adopted at the age of one by non-Asian parents and how that affected her life and her interest in discovery, which ultimately led her to this passion. But building and toppling domino art is much more than a hobby as Ms. Hevesh has been able to monetize her passion with a thriving YouTube channel and also being hired by big corporations to create domino art for commercials and such. I’m not sure how long Workman was following her around but we do get to see Lily in all sorts of environments. We mostly get to see her as entrepreneur as she’s designing and developing her own line of dominoes that would be ideal for the work she does.

Lily Hevesh is just so inspirational and watching this amazing woman go through her life and the wonder she creates in others makes this one of my favorite docs of the year. It will stream on Discovery+ starting Thursday but you can also catch it in NYC at the IFC Center starting Friday.

Over the weekend, I caught a movie that I missed when it got a platform release in New York and L.A. on August 6, as well as when it played at the Tribeca Film Festival back in March. David Gutnik’s Materna (Utopia), an anthology of sorts about four very different women, played by the wonderful Kate Lyn Sheil,Jade Shete, Lindsay Burdge, and Assol Abudllina (the second and fourth of those who co-wrote the script with Gutnik). It’s an interesting anthology that deals with four women who are on the same New York subway when an incident happens, but it never really goes too far into the incident, or even resolves it, since it’s more about the individual women and their lives. I was really only familiar with Sheil and Burdge, although I like the former’s segment more than the latter, though they’re both strange looks at motherhood. I’ll freely admit that there were aspects to all the stories I didn’t get, but I think I ultimately enjoyed the final Assol Abudllina segment the best, even though that’s the only one not in English. I don’t think Materna (which is now available digitally on TVOD) will be for everyone, but it’s certainly an intriguing and somewhat enigmatic film from Gutnik and his collaborators.

Premiering on Hulu Friday is Clay Tarver’s comedy VACATION FRIENDS (Hulu), starring John Cena and Lil Rel Howery as two guys who meet while on vacation with their partners Kyla (Meredith Hagner) and Emily (Yvonne Orji), and they become friends! Okay, there’s a lot more to the movie than that, but I’m embargoed until Friday at midnight so there’s not much more I can say. I do think it’s interesting that this was originally announced in 2005 with Nicholas Cage and Will Smith in the lead roles, and at one point, Chris Pratt and his ex-wife Anna Faris were attached, as well as Ice Cube. It certainly would have been interesting to see any of those pairings, and maybe this would have gotten a theatrical release rather than just streaming.

Mini-Review: A high-concept movie like this could definitely be very funny or absolutely horrible, because it is basically a buddy comedy that relies so much on whether the leads can be funny on screen together. I generally like Lil Rel Howery (even though he’s literally been everywhere this year and is in danger of getting into a James Corden level of annoying) as well as John Cena, who I’ve been a fan of from his wrestling days.

Like I said, the premise is really simple, Howery’s Marcus and his girlfriend Emily are vacationing in Mexico where he plans to propose when they encounter Cena’s Ron and his girlfriend Kyla, who are clearly having the time of their lives, but they’re also the kind of people you don’t want to spend too much time with since they’re VERY LOUD. They end up spending a lot of time together and when they go their separate ways, Marcus thinks that’s it. He and Emily continue to plan their wedding with Marcus trying to prove himself to Emily’s military father Larry (Chuck Cooper). Of course, Ron and Kyla show up and make everyone uncomfortable as they “do their thing” to ruin Marcus’ wedding.

Comedy is a tough thing to critique and gauge how people will receive it, because everyone finds different things funny, and I’m sure that most actual critics will find many reasons to hate this, because it’s incredibly inappropriate and quite low brow. Fortunately, the movie doesn’t rely merely on Ron and Kyla making Marcus uncomfortable as when the movie transitions into a wedding comedy, there’s lots of family dynamics to add to the humor.

Although The Suicide Squad is still Cena’s best and funniest movie of the summer, this is another example of how he’s really trying to mix things up with his acting roles, and even though he’s still way behind Dwayne Johnson in terms of getting to the A-List. Howery is definitely better in this than in some of his other recent movies (koffSPACE JAMkoff), and he continues to be a really strong comic actor that does well with the right material.

Hagner is hilarious and I’m sure I’ve seen her being just as funny elsewhere but some of the best laughs are when she’s faking out Marcus and Emily, but she’s also a great counter to Cena. Unfortunately, that means Orji almost always has to play the straight-person to the other three, but there’s a lot of great set-ups for laughs around her. There are some things that feel played and overdone like the gag of Marcus and Ron getting high and what happens with that, but then there are more original yucks as well.

Ultimately, Vacation Friends does what it’s intended to do. As far as vacation/destination comedies go, this one could have been a hell of a lot worse, but the combination of cast and Tarver’s direction makes this a consistently funny movie that probably would have done okay with audiences in theaters.

Rating: 7/10

I haven’t had a chance to see the Pen15 Animation Special, which also debuts on Hulu this Friday, but I’m looking forward to it for sure, as I love this show.

The pandemic dramedy TOGETHER (Bleecker Street), directed by the great Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, is the definition of a two-hander as it stars James McAvoy and Sharon Morgan (from last year’s Military Wives) as a couple who end up quarantined together during the COVID pandemic even though they clearly loathe each other and probably shouldn’t be together.

This is a movie where I really didn’t know what to expect, but it’s very dark and can’t necessarily be called a comedy and definitely not a romantic comedy, but is something akin to last year’s Malcolm and Marie, although in this case it’s very much meant to be taking place in the here and now. At first, the movie does seem to be fairly funny because of the jabs the two actors take at each other, but then it gets quite dramatic as it deals with her Mum dying in the hospital on her own.

In many ways, Together seems like something that would have worked just as well as a fast-paced play, since writer Dennis Kelly doesn’t make it anything that couldn’t be put on stage, although Daldry and Martin do find ways to keep it interesting as the two actors are moved around their flat. What’s particularly interesting is the pace which starts out quite quickly but then it slows down and gets quite dramatic as each actor goes off to do their own monologue.

It also deals with the seriousness of how badly England was struck by Covid, and it even gets into the mad rush to get the vaccine and the crazy things people would do in order to get it as soon as possible. Much of the question surrounding the duo is how they possibly could have at one time loved each other but now hate each other as their young son is seen in the background during their fiercest arguments. You spend much of the movie wondering whether they can reconcile and get back together, but more importantly, whether they should.

Listen, I’ve long been a fan of McAvoy, and I’ve always known what he could do as an actor but Horgan is a nice surprise, and it’s amazing to see two actors really push each other to get this amazing dual performance that drives the film.

Together covers a lot of ground, and its combination of an amazing script and two actors who can clearly dig in and really get the most out of it makes it a completely riveting film. Everyone involved with this movie has created a really brilliant piece of cinematic drama that can probably withstand multiple viewings to really appreciate what they’ve done, but especially for those two massive performances.

A movie that also debuted at Tribeca is Amber Sealey's NO MAN OF GOD (RLJFilms), another two hander of sorts with Elijah Wood playing Special Agent Bill Hagmaier and Luke Kirby playing notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy. The movie takes place in the mid-80s as Bundy is on death row at the Florida State Prison and Bill is trying out the FBI’s new methods of profiling serial killers in order to find them before they kill more people.

This is another movie that didn’t really click with me when I saw it at Tribeca, but I wanted to watch it again and give it another chance. This is definitely my kind of movie, and you can definitely see how the interviews between Hagmaier and Bundy could have led to things like the novels by Thomas Harris or David Fincher’s Mindhunter series on Netflix.

It’s well-written by Kit Lesser and the performance by Kirby is particularly strong, as he has a method of speaking that lulls you into a false sense of security, but overall, the delivery and pace of the film just isn’t as compelling as it could and should have been. The whole thing feels kind of stiff and staid, and while I like the idea behind the movie.

The movie also has a pretty amazing score, which does add a lot when things just aren’t very interesting, but as much as this is meant to be dark and creepy ala Silence of the Lambs, it just never fully delivers on the promising concept.

Premiering on Apple TV+ this Friday is the second season of the fantasy series, See, starring Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista, but I still haven’t seen the first season, so nothing more to add here.

Other movies out this week include:

BEHEMOTH (Level 33 Entertainment)

DEFINING MOMENTS (VMI Worldwide)

THE COLONY (Lionsgate)

Next week, Marvel Studios is back with a brand new hero in its MCU, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

[onestowatch]

Q&A: Meet Mark Johns, Lover Of Pasta, Yaeji’s Biggest Fan, and OWSLA’s Rising Star

I’ve done a number of interviews before, but none quite like my interview with Mark Johns. Settling in at the shared storefront of Moving Castle and Next Wave HQ on iconic Melrose Avenue, I set up my recording equipment and scrolled through Instagram as per usual. I watched Instagram story after story all in the hopes of calming those slight nerves that always seem to creep up when one is preparing to talk to someone whose music you’ve obsessively streamed on repeat before the idea of talking to them was even a reality. So, I can’t say with absolute certainty what I expected, but it most certainly was not a lively terrier-mix, who I would come to know as LiLo, darting into the storefront and leading the way of Naomie, the person behind the Mark Johns moniker. 

Singing Yaeji’s “raingurl” aloud and making herself comfortable on the carpeted floor below me, Naomie wasted no time before delving into her love for Yaeji and the undeniable banger that is BLAISE’s “Dua.” As LiLo ran around the storefront, occasionally stopping to play-fight and bite at my arm, Naomie continued to expand further on her clear and insatiable love for music. It was hard to envision the moment as a semi-formal interview and not as a casual conversation between friends who were simply catching up on their recent music discoveries and obsessions. 

Yes, before me sat, Mark Johns, the only singer on Skrillex’s record label, OWSLA, who was signed off of a single cover and inevitably poised for massive things. Yet, more than anything, the artist I found myself lucky enough to be chatting with was one with a genuine and irrefutable love for not only the music she was making but music itself as a whole. And yes, without a doubt, an artist clearly poised for massive things as well.

OTW: How’s the day been going so far?

Good. I’ve just been listening to that one Yaeji song over and over and over and over again, took my dog out, and made breakfast. I ate a healthy breakfast; I’m proud of that. 

OTW: Going back to where it all started, the first track you put out was with Manilla Killa, a flip of Lido’s remix of Yung Lean’s “Gatorade.” How did this collaboration come about?

That was my first thing ever. I was writing for this blog called Run The Trap. I was super heavy into curating playlists and my whole thing was I wanted to be in A&R. I'm still heavy into that. That's what I spend the rest of my time doing if I'm not making music. I met all these DJs through Facebook when I was covering them or adding them to playlists. It starts in the DMs. So, Manilla Killa is in this other group called Hotel Garuda with this kid Aseem. He used to live in Singapore too and we went to the same school but missed each other by a couple years. So, what happened was somebody that I went to school with in California ended up going to college at Occidental, which Aseem also ended up going to. We were introduced via Facebook and he introduced me to Manila, who introduced me to AObeats, who introduced me to robokid, who introduced me to the rest of Moving Castle. That's when they added me to Moving Castle and that's what formed the whole core brick of my social life. And that’s how I met Manilla Killa!

So, when we were just talking, on this SoundCloud where I was making all these other playlists, I had a couple of covers that I had recorded on my iPhone with an acoustic guitar in my bathroom. And he was like, “Can you help me out? I'm trying to do this cover.” I was like, “Yeah, sure.” I had this hundred-dollar USB mic that my friend bought for my birthday, and that's what I recorded the vocals on. That's also how I met Sable, and we made that “In Paris” remix together that got me signed to OWSLA. And that’s why I’m here, long story short!

OTW: Your rendition of not only “In Paris” but “Rehab” as well, felt much more like a reinvention than a simple covers or remix. What inspired you to tackle that track in that particular manner?

I was just listening to the Tennyson song and then I started singing “Rehab.” I was doing something else at the time, the song was just on one of my playlists. So, I recorded it on my phone and didn't do anything with it for a minute and then I watched that Amy Winehouse documentary. I have the weirdest relationship with Amy Winehouse. As much as I love her and everything she's done, she's so much more of a cautionary tale to me, because I see so much of myself in her, in terms of our characteristics and tendencies. So, I just look at her whole story and I'm like this is what cannot happen. That's why that whole Lil Peep thing hit me so hard. The whole scenario felt very similar. But when I watched that whole documentary, I felt this person is too important to me to not do something, and I remember that Amy Winehouse voice note and just did it. I put it out without telling anyone, because I was so emotional. They were so pissed at me the next morning. They were like you can't just do that! I was like, “But why? It's just SoundCloud.” Anyway, everything worked out for the best.

OTW: How has the journey been from that original collaboration all those years ago to being part of Moving Castle now?

It's cool to see something that started as a group chat grow into what it is now. I remember the Facebook group and the goals that we had then, they seemed so big to us back then, and, in comparison to the goals we have now, they seem so small. So, just to see that trajectory and that growth, it's so exciting. I'm stoked for everybody. I’m very excited that it’s all happening! It’s such a good feeling.

OTW: You’re a clear standout on Skrillex’s electronic and DJ-leaning label, OWSLA. Is it ever a worry for you being the only the singer on OWSLA, or is it something you find to be empowering?

That's kind of why I signed to them. I know how it goes with most labels, at least major labels. The last thing I wanted to do was sign to a developmental deal. They sign you off a single or give you a certain amount of time to come up with a single and you have that single moment, hopefully. If you don't follow that up, they kind of shelf you. I've just seen it happen to so many people, and that's not what I want. And I don't want anyone trying to tell me what to do, because I don't know what to do. I was signed off of a cover. I wasn't even writing original music at that point, so I know this is going to take me a hot minute to figure out, so when OWSLA was like we’ll give you full creative control that was tempting. They set me up with a place and studio space, and I dropped out of school and moved here. My parents weren't too excited about that at the time. So, I would wake up every day and eat pasta, go to the studio, come back from the studio, eat pasta, and go to sleep. It took me awhile, but they've been super patient with the whole process, and that's exactly what I needed at the end of the day.

OTW: Speaking more on your love for pasta, so much so that you have a Spaghetti Sauce Spotify playlist, walk us through your favorite pasta recipe.

My favorite pasta recipe probably starts at Trader Joe's. They have pappardelle egg pasta. I get that, and then I make a cream mushroom sauce with pesto. That’s my favorite stuff. I can eat a whole pot of that. It’s the best.

OTW: Your debut EP, Molino, is beautifully downtempo and emotive. What are some of the inspirations lying behind the album?

I was writing so much music, because I felt the need to be experimenting trying new things, and working with new people, but it kind of had this opposite effect on me where it diluted the music I was making. I felt at one point I needed to just step back and just write songs. Let’s just really write how we feel and get that all out, so then we can go back to experimenting and figuring all this shit out. So, it was a very introspective moment for me. It sounds like a love song EP. All them sound like I'm talking to a dude or significant other, but, at that point, I didn't know how to write about my relationships or just people in my life without using romantic metaphors. So, a lot of these songs are about everything, and I had to use these pronouns to make it make sense in my head.

OTW: And what was the feeling like as an artist putting out their first ever release?

I think there was too much weight on it. I know this happens everywhere, but it took longer for this actual project to come out. When you're sitting on something, and you just want the world to hear it because you're growing in that whole period and changing as an artist as well, you’re starting to not feel the same way you did five months ago. You get scared of what you made, especially as your first project. It’s so defining in a way and you don't want it to be. I don't think anyone ever wants any of their projects to be defining. Because I think everyone, as an artist, hopes to grow throughout their careers at some point, as long as you plan to keep on doing this for your whole life, which I hope most artists do. I was just scared that would be too big of a defining moment for me, because even for myself I felt that it was a too little left field for what I usually make, but I was very relieved. I felt I had gotten a lot off my chest, and I feel every artist should have those songs to go back to.

OTW: So, was music an integral part of your household growing up?

No, not at all. I had the most fucked-up relationship with music ever. My parents are pretty religious and had a pretty strict stance on what we could and couldn't really listen to growing up. So, I just listened to the radio stations my mom would put on, so a lot of Celine Dion and Duran. It was very PG, and nobody else in my family was really into music, and I wouldn't say I was either. I wouldn't ever have considered music to be one of my defining characteristics. I didn't develop an intimate relationship with music until a lot later, not until high school when I had my own computer and was downloading shit off LimeWire and getting into YouTube. I was learning there was more than just the singles you heard off the radio; there were whole albums. Honestly, I think the whole suggestions tab off YouTube is the whole reason I got into music, because it was just like, “Here you go, here's a curated playlist of songs you might like.”

OTW: Your name is a play on the visual artist Marc Johns. What’s the relationship like between you and the Mark Johns moniker?

He does not like me. I was so bummed. So, last year there was this billboard, the first time I was ever in a print publication, and like two weeks after it came out I get an email from Marc Johns and he was like you just can't take my name. So, that was a little bit disheartening, but I still love everything he does. The reason I chose Mark Johns was because one of his pieces was the background on my phone, and I was stressed out and panicking so I just went Mark Johns, “That's the one!” It kind of sucks that he doesn't like me, but I still like him.

OTW: What’s your favorite part of making music?

I like wordplay. That's my favorite part of making music and writing, figuring out how to make a sentence clever, like double meanings and all that. I get a lot of my inspiration from just reading sentences and thinking that a sentence meant one thing and being like, “Oh wait, nope.”

OTW: You parents weren’t originally too keen on you dropping out of college and moving out to Los Angeles to make music. Have they come around at all since then?

They were so pissed. They didn't talk to me for a hot minute. Yeah, I think no mom and dad wants to hear from their kid, “Hey Mom! I want to be a singer that's what I want to be in life.” As you grow up in life, you realize obviously you should always chase your dreams and do what fulfills you, and as a parent, I can understand how scary that must be to hear. You obviously believe in your child and think the best of them, but you worry that other people don't. I haven't lived at home since I was 14, so I've always been a little bit detached from that and to hear that I was going to be even more detached from their way of living and perspective on life, it was scary for them, so I understand. I went back to visit, and that was the first time I had seen them in about a year-and-a-half and from that point they became a lot more tolerant. They ask a lot more questions. They’re more curious. It’s a good relationship, and that’s all I can ask.

OTW: What does the future hold for Mark Johns?

More music. I have so much music that unfortunately you get so caught up in the way that people talk about music releases and it gets so strategic, but I don't believe in that at all. It took me a minute to come to that affirmation, but I was like, “No, that’s not okay.” I make so much music, and I’m working all the time. Sometimes it takes me forty minutes to write a song and the forty minute songs don't mean anything less than the three-months-to-write songs, so I just want to be more consistent with the music I'm putting out and have a more open relationship with my fans.

OTW: Is there anything at all you’d want the world or your fans to know about?

Just that we’re in a good place. I know that it’s probably going to go down again at some point, and then up again, and then down again, and then up again, but it was definitely a long little dip there. We learned a lot, and I’m really excited for next year.

OTW: Who are your Ones To Watch?

I’ve always believed in this kid Matt Maeson. I’m really really into BLAISE. You should look up his song “Dua”. He was obsessed with Dua Lipa, so he just made a song about Dua Lipa and it went viral that day. He’s the one who introduced me to writing in a way. He can do anything and everything. He’s a Ones To Watch for sure. I’m heavy into this Yaeji girl. I think she was a house producer before, but now she’s been singing on her tracks. There’s this one song “raingurl” that’s so fucking dope. I can’t not listen to it from when I wake up to when I go to sleep.

[momentsinsong]

Moments In Song No. 016 - Christen

“Moments In Song” asks people one simple question, “What are you listening to?” We believe that you can learn a lot about an individual and their experiences based off of the music they love. For every installment we ask someone to make a playlist of 10 songs they’re listening to, whether it be something new they stumbled upon, or a song they’ve always loved, and explain the story behind their choices. The person’s playlist is then uploaded, giving them the chance to share it with others. Each post aims to profile someone from a different walk of life, whether they be an artist, a student, the mailman, a school teacher, an athlete, a nurse, your next-door neighbor, anyone with a love for music; showing that no matter where we come from, what we do, or what we look like, music has the ability to bring us together.

With a playlist centered on relaxed beats and soothing vocals, Christen tells us the stories behind some of her favorite songs. Keep reading below to see our interview with the personal stylist and fashion blogger as she tells us about the first thing she listens to when playing music, 106 & Park, and how her taste in music has matured over the years.

Listen to Christen’s playlist on Apple Music and Spotify.

Words by Julian. 

Photos by Tayo.

What was the thought process that went behind making your playlist?

I was thinking about all the songs I’m currently listening to at the moment. I literally download new music everyday, and these are some of the newest songs I’ve downloaded, along with ones I already had. I love music so it was hard for me to fit all of my favorite songs into my playlist. I really like songs with smooth vocals, so a lot of these songs are very relaxing and put me in a mood where I want to feel stress free and care free.  

What song did you instantly know had to be on your playlist?

It’s between “Cranes in the Sky” or “Blessed.” It’s funny because I never listen to the lyrics of a song. I always listen to the beat first.  Those are the only songs that I really listen to the lyrics and am like, “Ok, let me figure out what they’re talking about.” “Blessed” is definitely one of my favorites because it talks about my life a little bit, and how I’m a crazy person sometimes but still blessed to have the people in my life who know how to deal with me and my craziness. And with “Cranes in the Sky,” I didn’t really know what it meant at first, and I guess it mean’s different things to different people, but to me, it makes me feel safe. Even with everything going on in the world, it lets me know everything is going to be ok.

How would you describe your taste in music?

It’s a mix of everything. Like I said earlier I like really mellow music, but I also really like house music, techno. Hip-Hop is cool. I like it but only certain songs and artists. But I’ll listen to certain music when I’m feeling relaxed, happy. I’m a weirdo, because when I’m sad I like to listen to sad music, to make me even sadder. [Laughs.]

I think everyone does that.

I don’t know why, but I really have to be in a specific mood to listen to certain songs. Like depending on how I’m feeling in the morning, I’ll listen to some turn up songs to get me hype, or days when I’m feeling tired I’ll listen to some more mellow stuff. But I feel like music in general sounds better when it’s loud, so I like to blast my music too when I’m in the car. The only type of music I don’t like though is country.

You mentioned earlier that when you first listen to songs the thing that sticks out to you the most is the beat. Is that the case 99% of the time?

Yeah definitely. Because if a song doesn’t catch my attention within like the first ten seconds, I’m turning it off. I know sometimes when I’m in the car I don’t have time to change the song, I’ll let the song play and I’m like, “Oh ok. This isn’t really that bad. Maybe I should’ve listened to the whole thing.” But for the most part the beat is what draws me in and keeps me wanting to listen more.

You said earlier “Cranes in the Sky” and “Blessed” were songs that had you focusing in on the lyrics. What songs on your playlist were the opposite and had a beat that really drew you in?

“Middle of Things, Beautiful Wife” by Sango featuring Xavier Omar and “Harem” by Miguel. I have no idea what the hell Miguel is talking about, but the beat along with his voice makes me like the song a lot. There are a lot of songs where I don’t know what they’re talking about, and sometimes I do want to research what they’re saying, but then I’ll think, “Hmmm, I just like the song.” Vocals also stick out a lot to me too. Some artists when they sing, it gives me chills. Like certain Daniel Caeser songs, and Beyoncé sometimes. Some of the notes she hits, I’m just like, “How can she do that?”

Most of your playlist is slow, mellow music but one song that stuck out to me was the Gucci Mane song. Is there a reason you threw that on there?

I just really like what he was talking about. First of all, his last album was good as hell.

Mr. Davis?

Yeah I’m surprised they don’t play a lot more of his music on the radio. That’s a really good album, and I liked what he was talking about on the song as afar as being black owned, which is funny because I want to come out with t-shirts that say that, because I’ve never seen that. That really stuck out to me, and him rapping about how he got out of jail, came back on, and was popping again.

When you first start listening to music you listen to what’s on the radio, and what kids in school are listening to, but then as you grow older you start to develop your own preferences and taste. How would you say those have evolved over time, and if there was one particular song, artist, or album that started that for you?

I’ve always loved music. I remember when my mom bought me my first CD, it was either Lil Bow Wow or Lil Romeo. And I listened to that CD every single day!

Which one?

The first one. With him on the front with the army bandana

Bow Wow?

No this was Lil Romeo. Bow Wow was the one where he had the dog on the front.

Which I found out was photoshopped later. He’s not really holding a dog on.

For real? Wow. But yeah I was always watching 106 & Park when I wasn’t supposed to be. Watching all the videos. Downloading music off of mp3 Rocket. I was getting really into music.

When was that? 106 & Park and mp3 Rocket?

106 & Park started that off. That was elementary school into middle school, and mp3 Rocket was around high school. Like all through high school, Limewire, all that stuff. That’s when I started downloading songs that I’d never really heard of. I really got into Drake towards that moment. That was like 2010. What grade was I in?

I think that was 10th?

I think it was junior year. Yeah I really got into Drake. I was a fan and listened to all of his songs. Its funny because I really used to hate slow songs, I really only liked fast songs as a child. But then when I got older, I started to like slower songs, and then from there it went crazy. I was downloading N.E.R.D., all different types of artists I was interested in. And when I stared listening to Soundcloud I started getting into different types and feels of music. Iman Omari was the first person I ever listened to that wasn’t really Hip-Hop or R&B, but somewhere in the middle. He really introduced me to different types of artist like Kelela and others. It was crazy. It just happened so fast. Music, I guess I just matured with it. What I was attracted to started to mature with my age.

What role would you say music plays in your creativity fashion wise?

It definitely inspires me. I know sometimes when I listen to songs I create a music video for them in my head, and I’ll use that as inspiration for a photoshoot, or what I want to write a blog post about, small things like that. Music is definitely a big inspiration in my life because it keeps me going. It sets the mood for everything that I do.

Can you pick one song on your playlist and give us the story behind why it’s on there?

“Blind Man” by Xavier Omar. I heard that song forever ago on Soundcloud, and you know Soundcloud doesn’t credit people all the time, so I had no idea who this man was. And after then I think I was on Pandora, you know Pandora will play random ass songs sometimes, I’ll be real shocked. I was listening and all of a sudden the song [“Blind Man”] came on. I’m like, “Oh my God, I haven’t heard this song in forever,” and I looked and saw that it was Xavier Omar. I had never heard of him so I downloaded his album and came to found out that he was on a lot of other songs that I actually liked and never knew who he was. So from there I grew to really really like that song. I like his vocals, and the way he sings. There’s a lot of artists out here that people sleep on, and they’re talented artists who people just don’t listen to, and it’s crazy because that’s a beautiful song.

Connect with Christen:

https://www.instagram.com/sochicchris/

https://twitter.com/sochicchris

https://www.sophisticatedchicblog.com/

Connect with Moments In Song.

[owlcafe]

I WISH TO CONTRIBUTE FRIENDS

I'll give a starter's guide TM for the games that I know if y'all want help picking one!

Phantasia: for those of you who like the classics. Very much an old-style RPG, you have to talk to everyone, lots of backtracking, but the main story is quite digestible and short. The characters were new and funky fresh in 1995 but not so much now, so it may read a lil tropey if you're a JRPG junkie (cause it helped make the tropes). Best version is probably the PSX? The GBA is the only one that's officially translated and the PSP versions are fully voiced like modern games, but the PSX is easier to find and has a patch.

Destiny: if you're a real DND fanatic, I somehow get the feeling this one is the one for you (although you'll obviously love them all). Has perhaps the strongest high-fantasy vibes despite not featuring elves, and a really interesting gameplay quirk where spells are learnt by the weapons, and you can rotate the weapons onto whoever you like (T&Cs apply). It has a director's cut and a sequel, neither of which are translated officially, or patches, although translated scripts exist. Join our crusade to make Bamco feed us. For the PS1, but was only officially released in the US.

Eternia: Another one with strong high fantasy vibes, Eternia is quite subtle, so it may not be for you if you like more explicit storytelling. I personally didn't get too far into the game but it's a good representative of its era - all about compassion saving the world, that kind of thing. Many give it flak for a comparatively weak cast, but that's testament to how good the rest are than a critique of Eternia. For the PS1 and PSP.

Symphonia: A well-loved representative of the series for a reason. The first localised game that brought skits with it, which became a staple and not for nothing. It is a big investment - if you want to mine it for all the material in it you'll need some hundreds of hours, and even one playthrough is no less than 60 hours BUT it is worth it I promise. Strong across the board, with a long, meandering story (which can be a blessing or a curse depending on your taste - there's a lot of stuff that is cute but doesn't help the narrative much), fantastic world building, a strong and large cast full of characters to love, hate or both at once! and fun gameplay mechanics. A puzzle solver's dream, almost every dungeon has some kind of unique puzzle element for you to grapple with. A great place to start if you want a taste of everything at once, and a healthy dose of science-fantasy in your regular fantasy. Also easily available! The original was on the GameCube, there is technically a PS2 version but I think only in Japan, it's on Steam and the PS3 version, called Tales of Symphonia Chronicles, comes packaged with its sequel, Dawn of the New World. Two for one! Sidenote for the Steam version: the game is from 2003. You can run it perfectly well on unimpressive hardware.

Rebirth, Legendia and Abyss I have not played BUT Abyss is another fan favourite, just for the record.

Innocence is a personal favourite of mine. A simple but compelling story carried by simple but compelling characters, this game does it all in a very neat package without spending too much time treading water like some of the longer games. A lovely, if not groundbreaking, coming of age story with elements of destiny mixed in for contrast. Never officially translated, but a patched ROM is available online and repros float around every now and then. For the Nintendo DS, complete with its graphical failures. There is a remake, Tales of Innocence R for the PSVita, but there is, to my knowledge, no complete translation.

Vesperia rounds out the top 3 most popular titles alongside Abyss and Symphonia, and again not for nothing. Be warned the story is slow to get going, so if you're a constant stimulation kind of player, it may take a while to catch your interest. On the flipside, if you like highly detailed world building, the thin narrative for the first while lets you focus on all the little details, so its another good game for those who grew up on 90s-era RPGs, as well as burying all the leads for character beats when things start getting spicy. The original is for the XBox 360, and there was a Japan-only revision for the PS3 which became the Definitive Edition, which is the one you should actually get. Available on Steam, Switch, PS4 and the XBox One! Every platform so you can definitely join in the fun!

I have not played Hearts through Xillia 2, so again I will leave them to the side. However, I have on multiple occasions fallen in love with Kohaku from Hearts where she's appeared in side games and mobile games, so I have no reservations recommending Hearts R for the PS Vita purely on the basis that she is in it.

Zestiria is a polarising game among the fandom but it certainly has its benefits. The story bears the fingerprints of executive meddling and last-minute cuts to make an overly tight deadline, meaning a lot of potential goes unrealised. However, the cast is still strong, generally, and the environments are beautiful. Of all the Tales games this gives the closest to a sandbox feel, with large maps that have secrets hidden everywhere for you to find, with reasonably free movement over the whole world (T&Cs apply). Also short story-wise if you're not looking for a big investment, but it rewards you well for investing time exploring the world. I don't recommend using a guide, the vibe is more fun if you go it alone, in keeping with Zestiria's theme of "passion illuminating the world". The gameplay will either vibe with you or not but there's not much you can't push through with brute force. For the PS3 and 4, as well as Steam.

Berseria works in tandem with Zestiria, having multiple explicit references, sharing certain world mechanics and a similar hero/villain dynamic. It is, in many ways, the realisation of Zestiria's unexplored potential. A dynamic and varied cast, who are allowed to grow and change organically, along with a hugely dynamic battle system with 6 equally fun, equally usable main characters make for a great foundation, only slightly let down by very same-y, linear levels that all share perhaps three or four different puzzle mechanics and only minimal rewards for going out of your to interact with the world.

This was longer than I thought but! I hope it helped! I am always here to talk Tales so if you want more specific guidance hit me up! Talk me through what your vibe is and I will offer you what guidance I can.

*sits on chair* so. you wanna get into the Tales series?

an extremely educational powerpoint presentation called “Why You Should Play the Tales Series” by me (twitter version)